This is an edited piece, with minor character change & MAJOR plot change.

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James Brown's voice boomed through the whole Banquet Hall, men gallantly holding their women to them. And from across the room, I saw Edward Cullen in his full height, far above six feet- altogether with his intimidating smile. Did he even see me? Sometimes it felt as though, on the rare occurrence that we were in the same city, he was able to just see right past through me. The body-clinging gown I wore was picked out by my mother and a friend of hers while on a lunch date and it did everything to accentuate every forming endowment I owned. He finally won the staring contest as I looked down and ran a shaky hand down the thigh of my black, silk dress. My feet (thankfully) gracefully walked past a crowd of fumbling girls and to the open bar. I had been offered a few glasses of wine and a flute of champagne earlier on in the night, so sitting at the bar at only sixteen wasn't so much of a problem here. With my hair pulled up and my strings of brunette locks out of my face (which now had a pile of make-up on, thanks to Alice), I looked a lot older than I actually was. My father had a fleeting feeling of doubt right before we walked out of the door; he had said I looked too old, my heels were too high, my dress was too revealing, my make-up was too much. I agreed with all of those things and with my eyes I begged him to tell me to march up the stairs and tone it down. But my mother being my mother bossed us right out the door and into the chilly air of autumn Redding.

That brought us here to my father's work banquet; the Police taskforce held an annual ball for their hard-working officers, and more importantly, their infamous Chief of Police. Every year it was the same- my father never knew what to do with the attention he had during these types of social functions, but shook hands and smiled in pictures when he was meant to. He wasn't a bumbling fool like me, at least! Where had I gained my social awkwardness from? Obviously not from my mom, as she worked the speech podium and banner of justice in her media spreads, that she would surely fawn over in the newspaper the next morning, as though she were professionally trained for the spotlight. I never paid much attention to the cameramen and flashing bulbs; who would want to take pictures of the Chief's plain, boring daughter? The one, who wasn't the top of her class, wasn't the star athlete at her high school, wasn't even a fashionable icon on a daily basis. But that kept me out of the papers, and it kept me below the media radar.

"Bella!" Alice's sweet voice sounded tired and groggy even to my own ears, which were nearly blown as the hoard of trumpets and Scottish bagpipes played at the arrival of more important people. "See you on Monday? Mom's not feeling too well," Alice shrugged, making her short hair bounce in every which way direction, "I told her that Prozac was not going to mix well with the martinis, but does she listen?" And she giggled, to which I only smiled. Jane Masen was a scary woman; she always had long nails and fried hair, she resembled a cougar constantly on the prowl, with her caring husband on the sidelines.

"Goodnight, Alice." I said sarcastically with a definitive roll of my brown eyes. "I'll call you tomorrow if my mom will let me go over. You know how she gets in church moods every once in a while." I shrugged, not really knowing how long we'd have to go without seeing one another again. Alice didn't believe in God and therefore hadn't attended a church service since she was just a kid, but I never was intrusive enough to ask why. We hugged goodnight, but in the embrace I felt her slip something in my hand. "What's this?" I inquired, bringing the paper to my face for a closer inspection.

She slapped the hand down dramatically and harshly whispered, "No, Bella. It's Jared's number. Call him." She was almost the normal height of a short person with her four inch heels. I bit my lip in contemplation but plainly Jared was a creep!

"Alice, he's a total weirdie! And way too handsy. No, sorry- I can't do it." I forced it back into her hands.

"He's not that bad. Just a little odd, but who isn't? He personally asked me to give it to you. That takes some guts, Bella, and you know it.' Alice gave me a look. "Just give it a try. You never know." She winked and walked away when her parents beckoned for the third time. Jane and Samuel Masen were impatient, and super strict with Alice. I always wondered how Alice came out... so normal with parental figures like that. The music coordinator seemed to be a fan of old tracks as the next song that came on was an Oldie that even my parents loved. Before Otis Redding's words could be shot out of the bass system, my parents got wrapped up in each other and gave one another that "we-are-definitely-doing-it-tonight" look that moms and dads share every other blue moon.

The bartender asked my want, and I only requested a Coke. My uncles down in Phoenix allowed me a sip or two of alcohol when I visited every summer, and every year I anticipated that it would taste better when I got older, and every summer I would show up one year older- it still tasted like piss. Seattle missed me, I knew it. "Would you like to dance?" I swiftly turned around, the swivel power of the attached barstool aiding in my action. As soon as he came into vision, a bright red enveloped my face and my mind had a lapse of nothingness.

"Umm, yeah. Of course." I added lamely and gave him my hand to take. When he touched me, I suppressed jumping right out of my skin. Esme and Carlisle Cullen had loads of family pictures and Edward's trophies adorning many of the rooms of their big house. I was aware of Edward's existence long before I had actually ever seen face-to-face. Our first interaction had been at a block party thrown by the Cullen's community neighborhood two years prior. He was with this tall, beautiful girl when I met him, hence unapproachable. Well, we did bump into each other (literarily- I spilled my slushy all over my black cardigan) once by the Garlic Shish Kabob stand...when he said hi and smiled, I only blushed and muttered a "sorry". He offered to help clean me off, and even addressed me by my first name. That made me so nervous, just knowing that he knew me and recognized me...put that together with the fact that he was the hottest man on the planet! I had just turned fourteen, and he was senior in high school, with a super cool car and football jock status; it made him a beheld God in my book.

Barely a four year age difference, really. I shook my head, that wouldn't matter, because there would be no potentially inappropriate relationship going on. Edward was, unfortunately to say, way out of my league. Or at least that was what I initially thought but like most of the time, I thought wrong. In this case, way wrong.

His dazzling smile made me dizzy with the nervousness; how could one man have such a massive effect on me? I spotted my parents moving around the dance floor, too close to each other for words. It was not pretty, how could their aged hormones still roar like teenage urgencies? Was a libido capable of preserving itself through thirty years of being with one person? I shook my head, not wanting to think about my parent's sex life for another minute longer than I already had. But then my thoughts turned back to the knight in shining armor in front of me, whom held me close and was saying something, but I just couldn't hear. This was all too much. "You're such a beautiful girl, Isabella." He smirked when a blush homed itself on my face. "You haven't set your sights on any boy, have you?" And he said it with such certainty that I could only supply a mute shake of my head. "Oh, blume, you are too innocent." Edward chuckled and set a loose curl aside, spreading a forest fire red color in his trail. "I have watched you the entire night. So mesmerizing." He mumbled in a deep voice. Suddenly his lips fell onto my shoulder, and there he placed such a light kiss that I was sure I had been kissed by the wing of a butterfly.

"Thank you." I whispered back, a shaky tone to my voice. I wasn't sure if this was what falling in love felt like, or if this was what raging hormones were. But it felt good- no, it felt great. I shivered as he pulled me closer, one large hand splayed against my back and the other dangerously close to my bum. My arms settled longingly around his broad shoulders; had this been Mike Newton or some other slimy boy I would have loathed that sort of close proximity and amply attempted to detach myself from such a situation. But this was Edward... Edward freakin' Cullen. He was heaven and allure put into breathing flesh, and served on a platter all for me. I shuddered at my brave mental imagery. "You're the mesmerizing one." I blurted; this was why I chose not to speak much to people- I made such a fool of myself more than not! But he only chuckled, his warm breath tickling the hairs along my neck.

The night seemed to fly by in a minute as we danced the time away; we never dismembered from each other, even if we didn't like the song. We just kept on dancing, and I was so sure that night would last forever. I eyed my dad by the door, telling a bellboy something. That was the sign it was time to go, and I wanted to be away from my dancing partner before my dad started looking around the room for me. It was a known fact that Charlie was not a fan of the Cullens, for whatever unknown reason, but I hadn't the nerve to ever ask. I was positive it would be one horrible situation if he saw that I was up close and personal with the Cullen son. "Edward." I murmured his name, catching his attention.

"My name sounds utterly wonderful coming from those lips." His almond-shaped eyes intoxicated me and I almost forgot why I said anything to break the hazy spell we were under. If only I were two years older and already going to college... I would have been able to stay the rest of the night. I blushed and shook my head. Focus, Bella.

"I have to go. My parents are ready to leave." I was breathless as I said those two sentences in one unclear, blurry ramble of words.

"You can't stay just a little while longer? I'll drive you home." His twinkle-like green opals made my knees go weak because I liked this guy, a lot. But I didn't trust him much. He was beautiful, privileged, and used to getting what he wanted- those kinds of guys expected certain things from girls.

They all did. "I'll be gentlemen, I promise." He hadn't let me go yet. I did not see the night going well if he took me home, for once he realized how frigid I was he would surely run off laughing and tell all of his buddies about the Swan daughter and her anti-sexual presence. And to grow the kind of balls it took to ask my dad permission... no, just no! I swiftly shook my head and wiggled to get out of his iron-like grip; what was once sweet and charming, was now persistent and just a bit controlling.

"No, I'm sorry." I smiled for the effect. "My dad wouldn't like it, and it would just give my mother false hope." I forced a light tinge of laughter out. This was getting a little weird for me, seeing as I was just realizing how different our personas were and the age gap that wedged us apart. "But thank you." I finally broke away from him and moved to seek out my dad. Nothing could touch me when in my dad's presence. He really was my hero and the man I would always look up to, I had no doubt at all about that fact. I doubted the possibility of life without him, even if my mom didn't; they were both strong-willed people but my mother had less love for things than he did. Rene was the kind of woman that enjoyed life, but didn't quite love it and Charlie learned to only love life very early on, because he didn't like too many human beings for what they were. I wasn't sure if he even loved my mom at times! I knew he loved eating what he caught on the river, the way the water stilled and then moved when your fishing boat rocked the waves, and the silence of the hills and the trees around him when he hiked. Mom loved when people around her were laughing, when I had a smile on my face, when she was on the top floor of a skyscraper looking down. I loved a little bit of both of those things- the world around me and the people that inhabited it.

Charlie regarded me with a grim expression as I bounded over to him. "Your mother is in the Powder Room. She lost her bag and thinks it's in there." I squealed and ran off to the bar; I had forgotten my clutch, also! That was a trait I inherited from my mom, purses were such a nuisance sometimes. I wish I could carry around a wallet in my back pocket like my dad, then I wouldn't always misplace it everywhere I went. The bartender graciously plucked my accessory from behind his compartment and handed it to me with a smile. He was the same one that served me my Coke earlier.

"Thank you so much! I have a habit of leaving this everywhere." I rolled my eyes, publicly berating myself for the annoying behavior of mine. It was just a simple nude clutch- small and completely convenient, so much so that you'd think I'd remember it once in awhile.

"It wasn't a problem at all, Miss Swan." His dark skin and pearly white teeth made my head light. The name tag on his breast read Seth. "I'm Seth." He stuck his hand out for me and I quickly shook it. "Would you like-"

"She's not interested." I heard Edward growl from behind me. Seth quickly released my hand and it limply fell by my side, accidentally brushing against Edward's thigh on its way down. I felt the rumbling in his chest, as it was flush against my back. "Miss Swan is with me." At that, Seth's eyes darkened. I sent him an apologetic look before he and Edward entered an intense staring contest, one like I had never witnessed before. I was frightened by the sudden intensity, but it was suddenly broken as an older girl of the same color approached Seth, a determined look on her face.

"Is there a problem here, Seth?" The woman rounded with a stern attitude.

"No, Leah, there isn't." He sent me a light smile before ushering the girl away and continued tending to the rest of the bar. Leah gave me a weary glance and glared at Edward before looking away completely. I released a sigh of relief. I thought the boys were going to go at it, right then and there! I envisioned one jumping over the bar counter and attacking the other to the ground but I shook my head at that stupid thought, they're both grown men, I reminded myself. I was just glad that crisis was over with! My view of Edward partially disintegrated at the little scene he just caused in front of me. He really did have no right whatsoever to be rude like that with Seth, a boy I just met. And those looks the two barkeepers gave me... it was as if they were trying to warn me about something?

I turned around and went to walk away, but his large body completely trapped me. "Mister Cullen? My father is waiting for me." I looked up at him from under my mascara lashes, since they weren't long enough naturally. I no longer wanted him around me and he needed to catch that hint already.

"Why are you calling me by my surname now?" He seethed, his lips growing thin. "Don't tell me you're getting all prickly over that! What, you expected me to just stand there and watch the pre-pubescent little prick ogle you and your exposed body?" His arms shot out and pressed against the sides of the bar to trap me completely. I stayed silent, hoping he'd take the hint and walk away. I didn't like his language- so foul and dirty! Seth was doing nothing of the sort! "I just wanted to protect you because you're so tiny and look like you're made of porcelain. Guys like that only want to hurt you." He looked into my eyes, and the pressing of want of his body on mine was stronger than I had ever felt before. I was a sucker for that kind of thing, possessive men that defended and guarded what was theirs. But then again, I wasn't his.

"I can stand up for myself, and I'm not so dense that I don't know the only thing on a man's mind." I looked into his orbs again, this time not getting so lost. Being so close to him... it was hard not to let my thoughts slip away and fall into the gutter. Focus again, Bella! I reprimanded myself and faced him once more. "He was kind enough to keep my purse safe, for your information." I waved the object near his face, the brownish, satin capsule soaring mockingly in front of him. My thumb must have flipped the latch that caused it to fling open, because my tube of lip gloss and a few other miscellaneous objects fell out. I rushed down to pick them up, and Edward felt the dire need to bend down to help.

A hot pink color encompassed my face as he slipped a spare maxi pad of mine in the wallet. I was just about done when his large fingers grasped a wisp of paper, catching my attention immediately. I thought nothing of it until we stood up and he crushed the paper in his hand, a lot more easily than I could crush starch paper. I gave him a sweltering look that melted most people, but he seemed totally unaffected. "Seems you did set a certain sight." He seethed. This big hunk of man was not most people, obviously.

I rolled my eyes. "That's just Jared. My friend has been trying to set us up for awhile now, I decided to entertain her idea tonight." I held my hand out for the paper, expecting him to do the polite thing and just give it back.

He leaned in and inhaled my scent like an addict did his drug. "You won't be calling him. He is a creep, a slimy bastard if you will." My thoughts exactly, I internally screamed, but withheld voicing that accurate opinion. Agreeing with him would only swell his already enlarged ego. "This is my cell." He dialed it in my phone, and I snatched it away from his grasp before he had the chance to call his own number. How much of a caveman was he, honestly?

"You are not the one to tell me who I am going to call and who I am not, Mr. Cullen!" I saved his number nonetheless and slid the sleek little thing in the pocket of my dress. "My father is beckoning me." I said at last. He was unmoving. I frowned. "What?"

"I will allow you exit if you call me by my name." He leaned in closer and our noses almost touched in an intimate manner.

"Fine, Edward." I laced that two syllable word with as much venom as I possibly could.

"Thank you, kind Lady Bella." He winked at me before moving to the side. I stomped away, surely looking like the seventeen year old I was. My mother was just walking up to my father as I reached them. As we exited, Rene was babbling on about how tricky her purse was and how she "could have sworn it was right under my arm the entire evening". It was in the last stall she used, and my dad rolled his eyes as he steered us into the traffic. Seattle was a busy city, and my dad was talking about moving back to the sweet tranquil of Redding pretty soon. We only moved to the city a year ago, due to my mother's insistency. All of my dad's family was in the farmland of Forks, but he left just to make my mother happy and I huffed at such a thought. What did she ever do for you, Dad, I wanted to ask him in frustration but declined. I mean, I easily kept in touch with old friends and was still fairly close to the people I grew to love from both locations, so it wasn't like I was ever sacrificing too much with the move.

But Seattle had so many bookstores and joyful people, along with nice weather outside of heavy winters. It was winter all of the time here in Washington, where my mother said she liked to live but Phoenix was too nice not to vacation. We often traveled to Forks, a little town not far away, where Charlie was born and raised- high school friends and family belonged and stayed there for the rest of their lives, it was kinda like my dad broke the mold by packing up and heading out with my mother.

One of my mom's friends happened to be Esme, Edward's mother. I shivered at the thought of such a sweet woman birthing such a sour, controlling jackass. He was like a stubborn mule! And the way he crumpled the number... as if he owned me and felt the need to destroy any other chance of a suitor! "Did you have fun tonight?" Rene addressed me sweetly from the front of the car but I shrugged my shoulders in response from the backseat of my dad's SUV. It was always so empty back there; five empty seats surrounded me, kind of like high school. The space was nice once in awhile, but not all of the time.

Alice was with us most of the time, whether on road trips or on rides around the city. But when she wasn't there, I felt the inevitable loneliness of an only child. Her mother, Jane Masen, wasn't fond of me at all and often hinted at the fact that my wallflower-ness could potentially rub off on her starlet daughter at Woman's Club meets. Whether it was a heated tennis match or a gala of ladies meeting while their husbands played some political golf (not that my dad even respected the sport of golf, he was there because my mom told him to be) if my mom was there, so was Mrs. Masen. She thought that being in close proximity with us would score her and her corporate businessman CEO husband good points with the social media- sometimes people forgot that my dad was just Charlie Swan after hours, not Chief of Police all of the time! "Fine." I murmured. My dad thought Country Clubs and Woman's Clubs were pretty stupid, because the only sport he enjoyed playing was fishing and the only matches he enjoyed watching were baseball or football, on a TV set where he could recline in his favorite seat with a nice cold beer. I didn't go out and buy pretty outfits for a day at Redding's Country Club like my mom. I wore some athletic shorts and a crew neck shirt for comfort. And I didn't attend with my mom very often; nobody there really liked me enough to miss my presence in any matter.

"And that boy you were talking to tonight? Was he giving you any trouble?" I gulped silently at my dad's deadly tone. Just how much had my dad seen? I was about to speak when my mother cut in.

"Who? Edward, Esme's son?" My mom got a bright smile at her own words.

"No, Charlie, he's a perfect gentleman!" Yeah right, mom, butI contained my words and a dramatic eye roll. "A charmer, isn't he?" Rene looked at me from her fold out mirror. I blushed and broke eye contact with her for an instant, trying to collect my wits about me.

Instead I focused on the swift glances from my dad through the rearview mirror. "He was fine, dad." I spoke tersely, detesting the triumphant smile on my mother's face. "We danced some and said our goodbyes. Edward was nice and kept his boundaries." I lied easily. Why tell the truth to my dad, who would kill Edward on the spot for crossing me in any way at all? Another prideful smirk from my mother brightened up her presence. "I don't think I'll be seeing him again, though." And the smile fell right off her face, just as I wanted it to. Take that, old woman! A deep frown enveloped her naturally youthful face.

"Why not?" She stammered. "He's a good boy, and he's certainly sweet on you." Rene winked at me. I blushed like a maniac and ducked my head to conceal the tell-tale signs of my innocence.

Ugh. Why did mothers feel the need to pry? "Mom, we don't use that term anymore." I emitted a giggle. "It's kinda old."

"I'm not old! Am I old, Charlie?" My mom consulted my dad and felt at her face gingerly as she spoke.

My dad had a grim face as he shook his head at me. "Be careful around that troubled boy, Bells." He warned me and turned back to his wife carefully. "No, Rene, you're not old. You don't look a day past sixteen." I supposed that was suave of him in my mother's eyes, because she let out this low-pitched grumble (that I guess was a mating call of sorts for older people) and my dad's foot pressed the speed limit. Great, he was putting my life in danger to rush home and have sex with my mother! Ewww, which was a way disturbing mental picture- Charlie never went past fifty mphs, but I could have sworn the speedometer read seventy by the last two streets home. I shut my eyes and laid my head against the window. What a night.

Sunday-

I was right in assuming my mom was feeling gun-ho about church and woke the house at nine o clock to put on our Sunday best. We hardly ever went to the Baptist church down the street from our house, but instead to the one across town where Redding's Board of Founders all attended. Lots of people went there, so my mom felt she had to be in attendance as well. Charlie often reminded her church was for worshippers, not the media, but she mostly blew it off. "Shall we pick up Alice on our way?" My mom offered as she slipped on her pearls in the kitchen.

I shook my head. "Alice messaged me this morning and said she's not feeling well." I lied. Actually, Alice sent me a text of a sarcastic good luck when I told her about Rene's plans to be the perfect Chief's wife for the day. The Masens were not church-goers, least of all their only child, Alice.

"That's such a shame, sweetie! Alice should attend more often, the Lord should be in everyone's heart." Her genuine smile nearly lead me to believe that she really did enjoy church. "Ready?" She fixed the sleeve of my grey cotton dress and smiled brightly into my face. "Beautiful." Rene kissed my cheek before reapplying her Avon lipstick and rubbing her thin lips together.

I would remember that moment for the rest of my life. It was a scarce instance wherein she complimented and showed me the type of affection I so craved, without mentioning anyone else or gossiping like a rag doll. The rest of the morning went on in a sudden blur, where even Pastor Mark's speech couldn't draw me away from the cloud of thought I was lost in. I thought of Edward and his muddy first impression, my mother and her swinging moods/personas, and my current predicament… I was going to be a senior at Rocky Ides High School in a matter of months when summer was over.