A/N: You've left the LJ Summers' Zone and entered… The KATMOM Zone!

This is a side-shot to Katmom's story, Immersion, which you can find here by deleting the spaces in the following URL:

http: / www. fanfiction. net/s/ 5434313/1/ Immersion

She invited me to do a scene with one of the secondary characters, Sandi the Debate Team Captain, and I've tried to do so, here.

I hope you enjoy. :)

This is a work of derivative fiction. All things TWILIGHT are the intellectual property of Stephenie Meyer and/or her assignees. I write merely to entertain myself and others and receive no compensation.

I Kissed Edward Masen

Well, Halloween wasn't a big deal. I mean, not for Forks. I didn't have time to do any party stuff, not if we I was going to be prepped for the Fall Invitational in Port Angeles. This was the qualifier for State finals before Spring and I didn't want to walk in half-ass prepped.

So I blew off the party, but I didn't blow off my team!

"Hey, Edward," I said, catching him in a rare non-Bella moment. "Got a sec?"

He scanned the immediate area with those killer green eyes before meeting my own sea-gray ones. "Sure, Sandi. What's up?"

I tossed a length of my sandy brown hair over my shoulder. "Are you competing in Port Angeles this month? The big Invitational is the weekend before Thanksgiving, remember."

He grimaced. "I'm sorry. I've just been – caught up."

I nodded. "I totally know. Bella. It's cool. I'm really glad you found someone."

Sheepishly, he grinned at me. "Yeah." Then, in tandem with me, he said, "And no, we can't tell anyone."

I laughed softly. "She can come too, you know. She's smart. You could even take over as Captain..."

He shook his head immediately. "Thanks, Sandi, but no. I couldn't give it what you do." He shoved one hand roughly through his wild bronze hair. Sex hair was what all the girls called it, but I couldn't call it that. It never fit.

It'd be like saying my own twin had sex hair. Ew. No. "Then I was thinking Gary."

He nodded, his eyes starting their usual restless search for Bella Cullen. Lucky girl, Bella. Walks into school and finds the smartest boy in it and claims him in front of everyone in one day.

Just one day!

"Gary'd be good. He's dedicated and he placed right behind you at State last year." Edward grinned broadly at me. "Not too bad for a couple of juniors."

"Heh. I know." I placed first and Gary took second at State the year before. It was, as Edward said, something of an accomplishment. "I only took first because that guy from Seattle tried to sneak in a little Farsi in his rebuttal." I laughed a little. "Didn't anyone ever tell him to investigate the competition before a debate?"

In a rare show of brotherly affection, Edward Masen wrapped one long arm briefly about my shoulders before giving me a noogie. Yep, a noogie. He could be such a geek. But then, I'm captain of the debate team. I am the uber-geek. "Obviously not. But how many high school girls in the Pacific Northwest speak fluent Farsi? Not to mention French and Japanese?"

I blushed brightly and he laughed before letting me go. "Anyway! So! Okay. You're not going to ask her to join the Debate Team at all?"

He grimaced. I knew he loved the team. We were his best friends. We'd all been together since Freshman year and were like family, for Pete's sake. I mean, we all knew that since Bella Cullen had arrived, his mind had been almost captivated, but he was still one of us – wasn't he?

"I don't know," Edward said now, looking fidgety. As if he had a bad itch somewhere; I didn't want to speculate where it was or how it felt, thank you very much.

"Edward," a melodic voice called, the tones of it floating effortlessly in the space that separated mouth from ear.

In the thump of a heartbeat, Edward moved and had his arm around Bella, with his face buried in her throat. Her head tilted up to the nook afforded by the slope of his shoulder and they just stood there, motionless like that.

No one really stared at them too much. Not anymore. We – the entire student body of Forks High – were used to their greeting ritual by now.

I smiled and shook my head before leaving the lovebirds alone. They got kind of nauseating when they were like this.

We were moving the week of Thanksgiving. Moving to D.C. with my dad. He got the new job in the Pentagon and that meant all of us had to relocate. I was really, really busy trying to finish up my stuff for the last State Qualifier debate here – I'd fly back in the Spring if I qualified – and packing for the move and getting Gary ready to take over as captain.

I was hurrying out of the office with my final grades all printed up on official stationery – Mrs. Cope trusted me with anything and everything because I worked as an office aide and practically ran the place during third period every day – when I almost bumped into Edward and Bella in one of their "enraptured" moments.

And though we never spoke of it, I totally remembered.

It was during sophomore year. I had just got my license and was all stoked because I could drive some of the team home after the local tournament. It wasn't a big tournament; more of a trial-size one. We were able to work on our timing and the effectiveness of our resources in our chosen debates.

That year, the captain of our team was Grant, Andrea's big brother. He had the same shade of red hair as Andrea did but his temper was always extremely calm. Grant took everyone home but Edward and me and I knew my heart was racing because I would get to drive Edward home.

Edward Masen was the hottest guy. Sure he was kinda skinny, but he was so smart! And talented! And he had a way of staring into my eyes when we were practicing our debates that made me lose my train of thought. Totally.

So I was all excited to be taking him home that night after we went and had a team celebration dinner at the diner.

Edward was nervous, I could tell. He drummed his fingers on his knees and smiled a little at me. His focus flittered to my mouth once in a while and I could sometimes feel his eyes on me as I took the winding road to his house outside of town. "So!" he said on a gust of breath as I reached the miles-long driveway. "We did pretty good, today."

"Yep! Second place!" I said, my stomach filling with butterflies. "And you, Edward! You totally took the rug out from under that guy from PA High."

He laughed a little as I slowed and parked in front of his house. "He made it easy." Then, he blew out a breath. "Thanks for the ride, Sandi. I appreciated it."

"No problem. My pleasure," I assured him, turning just a little in my seat. Just in case, you know?

The porch light stayed off and I thought I could hear Edward swallow. "I owe you, just as soon as I get my license." He leaned in a little toward me and grinned.

"What, you think I'm running a tab or something, Edward?" I teased, leaning toward him accidentally-on-purpose. "I'm not a bartender or something."

He didn't move. I didn't move. I didn't know what to say into a really heavy silence. I wanted him to kiss me, but I was not going to make the first move. Nuh-uh. No way. Finally, though, I had to say something. "So, where're your folks? They're not out here demanding the release of their talented son from the random, Farsi-speaking security risk."

Edward's crooked smile flashed warmly in the dark confines of my Toyota. "Dad had a work dinner and Mom's with him. That's why they couldn't pick me up at the diner. So I guess," he said, reaching a cautious hand forward, "the timing couldn't be better..."

"You've been watching too many humorous interpretation speakers," I muttered, my heart thundering inside my chest.

"Not me," he demurred. "Just you, Sandi. So, if I can't run a tab, would you maybe take something else in payment for the ride?"

"What?" I whispered, hoping hoping hoping.

And then, the miracle occurred and Edward Masen held my head still as he pressed his lips to mine. I had dreamt of this moment, actually. Ever since the school year started and I got a chance to spend some real time with him. He was so smart and made such great jokes – geek jokes, but they were great – and he was just so hot. Kissing him had been a serious dream of mine.

Until it actually happened.

I closed my eyes like the girls do in the movies. I tilted my head and he did too. We did all the right things. But –

We stopped, our lips still barely brushing one another's as our eyes flew open in confusion. "This is weird," I breathed, hardly daring to say it, but having to, just in case he wanted to try that again.

"You too, huh?" His eyebrows shot up into his forehead.

We both flung ourselves against the headrests of our respective seats, and the same words came from both our lips. "Damn, and I'd been wanting to try that for so long!"

"You too?" we both asked on the next breath. Then, giving up, we laughed and shook our heads.

I felt stupid, really stupid, and didn't dare to look at him. It had been like kissing my brother or something. If I had had a brother, anyway.

Then, he did something I thought was really brave. He took my right hand in his left. "Sandi, don't hate me."

"Never, Edward." I managed to look at our hands but that was it. I was still mortified. "Sorry."

"Sorry for not hating me?" He snorted and then, finally, I looked him in the eye as headlights flashed not too far from us. "Hell, my folks are home. It's just, like..."

"Like kissing a sibling. I know!"

"Yes! Weird!"

"Totally weird."

"We can't tell anyone," we decided – again at precisely the same moment.

"You're like having an identical twin," I stated as his parents reached the house.

He laughed again and opened the door, making the interior light shine way too brightly for my dark-adjusted eyes. "Fraternal, Sandi."

I blew him the raspberries. "You're such a geek."

"So are you!" he called as he shut the passenger side door.

I waved to his parents as the interior light dimmed. They nodded. Edward waited on his front steps until I drove away.

That had been about two years ago, and we never told anyone about that bizarre attempt at a kiss. But he was about my best friend in the world, and I was really going to miss him when I moved.

I wondered if he'd miss me much at all. Probably not. After all, he had Bella.

"Well," I said to myself as I left them behind me, practically melting into the locker bank, "she's pretty and she's got Edward, but I bet she's not starting off at George Washington as a sophomore next year."

Full ride scholarship and anticipated passing of half a dozen Advanced Placement exams assured me of that much, anyway. "Good luck, you guys."