Happy Birthday Naelany! You have been a great friend and mentor over the last year or so. You are always there when I need a prereader or beta, and you never fail to have a kind word when I'm in a funk. I know you love these boys as much as I do, and since the plot bunny that inspired the original one-shot was yours, I thought you might like to see Edward's take on the story!

I wish you the happiest of birthdays my dear! I adore you and treasure you! *muah*

This is in drabble format, which seems to be the only way I can write these days. It is also un-beta'd, so please forgive and puncuation or grammatical errors :)

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own, yadda, yadda, yadda.

*~N~* *~N~* *~N~*

On any other day, the entire school would have been abuzz over the new kid. But this wasn't any other day; this was the day that Forks High's star quarterback showed up for school with a black eye, so the beautiful boy with the sandy hair and amber eyes went unnoticed.

Well, not completely. I, for one, could not tear my eyes away from his heavenly face, except to take in his long legs and lean body. It was as if the boy from my dreams had just walked through the door and was standing before me.

I stood, transfixed.

*N*

Months passed with little more than a hello exchanged between us, but my crush on him was greater than ever. We shared a few classes, giving me the opportunity to observe him on a daily basis.

I found his clumsiness endearing, his intelligence intoxicating. He never tried to draw attention to himself, but when called upon, he always knew the answer for whatever question he had been asked.

Unfortunately, this made him the target of a few of the more obnoxious bullies in our class. I struggled with the desire to help him. Would he let me if I offered?

*N*

It was by chance that I found him in the library, being pushed around by a couple of blockheads from the basketball team. I called them by name as I approached, warning them that they could get suspended from the team if they were caught bullying another student. How would they explain to their parents when they were barred from playoffs?

Luckily, that was all it took to get them to back off.

As Riley and I stood there staring at each other, I realized this was my chance.

"Would you like to have lunch with my friends and I?"

*N*

From that day on, he was a part of our group. My best friends all knew I was gay, and it was a non-issue with them, but I wasn't sure how Riley would feel about it. I was also fairly sure that Jasper and Bella knew about my growing feelings for our new friend, which was confirmed when I asked Bella to be my date for the upcoming dance.

"Isn't there someone else you wanted to ask?" she said, grinning. "Like a certain brown eyed hipster who's been following you around lately?"

Nervously, I stuttered, "I- I just can't. Please?"

*N*

As much as I wished for Riley to be my date, I wasn't willing to risk asking him. If he wasn't gay, he'd hate me, and if he was, well there was no guarantee that he would be interested in me that way.

Of course, Jasper was convinced I was wrong. "You have to have noticed how he looks at you Ed... it's like he wants to eat you, or something."

I tried to explain that Riley didn't like me that way, that he just needed a friend to lean on. Even to my own ears, the argument was weak.

*N*

At Bella's urging, I invited Riley to join us at the dance, and admittedly, I wanted him there. He was the one I wanted to put my arms around and sway to the music as I buried my face in the crook of his neck. I just couldn't tell him that.

It did not escape my notice that he grew distant as the week wore on. He said he didn't dance and that he'd just feel out of place, but I couldn't help but wonder if he saw how I felt for him. That it made him uncomfortable around me.

*N*

I asked him if I'd done something wrong, but he swore that he just wasn't feeling like himself. It was easy to see the defeat etched on his face, as if he'd been caught in a lie. I tried to brush off the hurt and disappointment, and once again tried to encourage him to change his mind and meet us at the dance.

For just a second, I swore I could see my own feelings reflected back as his eyes met mine, and I wondered if he saw the same.

With a quick nod, he climbed out of the car.

*N*

As we held court in the far corner of the gym, I tried not to get my hopes up. After all, he told me repeatedly that he wasn't coming, and I had no reason to believe otherwise. It was then that Bella spun around and threw her arms around me.

"He's here," she whispered, standing on tiptoe to kiss my cheek. "Now, go get your man!"

As I lifted my hand in greeting, I noticed the look of despair on his face. I started across the gym to meet him just as he turned and fled.

"Riley, wait!" I cried.

*N*

When I finally caught him in the parking lot, he wouldn't meet my eyes.

"I shouldn't have come," he whispered.

When I asked why not, he admitted that it hurt to see me with Bella. Finally, everything clicked in to place.

He thought I was with Bella. He wanted me.

It was time to tell him everything.

"Riley, please look at me," I implored. When he did, I asked him if we could go somewhere, knowing that this conversation would require as much privacy as we could manage.

"If you're sure you want to," he answered hesitantly.

"Please," I replied.

*N*

As I drove toward the beaches at La Push, he asked about Bella, wondering how she would get home. I assured him that she would find a ride with Alice and Jasper.

I parked my car in the space closest to the the trail head and got out, heading down toward the beach, knowing he would follow me.

When I reached the water's edge I turned, facing him as I asked, "You said it hurts you to see me with Bella. What does that mean?"

He placed his hand over his heart and said softly, "It means...it hurts here."

*N*

I let his words wash over me as he rambled on about my relationship with Bella and how happy we looked together. It wasn't until he said that he had wanted me for a long time that I felt shock.

I was dumbfounded. How much time had I wasted, pining for him when we could have been together?

I shook off those thoughts as relief flooded my soul. "You want me."

"Yes."

"Since when?" I wondered aloud, trying to read his expression.

"Since the first time I saw you."

*N*

Before I could say anything, he was rambling again. He knew we could only ever be friends and that was okay with him; that all he really wanted was my happiness.

I approached him slowly, fearing that I would scare him away if I moved too quickly. How could he not know that I had been craving his touch for months? That all I had ever wanted was for him to look at me the way he was looking at me just then.

"What if I told you that what would make me happiest right now would be to kiss you?"

Cupping his cheek, I brushed my lips against his jaw.

*N*

"Say something," I begged. Breathing his name, I pressed my lips against his tenderly.

His arms wrapped around me, I fisted his shirt and held him close against me as I plunged my tongue in to his eager mouth. I'm not sure how long we stayed like that, tasting and teasing and loving, before I had to pull away, needing air in my lungs.

Resting my forehead against his, I murmured, "Bella... she and I... we're just friends, Riley."

I took his face in my hands and kissed him once more, trying to find the words I needed to say.

*N*

"She knows how I feel about you," I spoke softly, sharing Bella's words at the dance.

His confusion was palpable as he relayed the conversation he had overheard between Jasper and myself. I could only tell him the truth.

"I didn't know you were interested, Riley. If I had, I might have acted sooner."

The happiness on his face when he learned that I wanted him soon disappeared and was replace by a look of sorrow as he realized how much time we had wasted. Although I had felt the same moments before, I wouldn't let him mourn the past.

*N*

Looking in to his eyes I murmured, "Hey, don't be sad; we're here now, and that's what matters most."

He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me tightly, and whispered, "Hey Edward?"

"What, Ri?" I murmured against his neck, peppering him with tender kisses.

"Is it okay if I kiss you again?"

I smiled then, trying to hold in a laugh as the giddiness I felt began to bubble over. "You'd better."

Finally, after so many months of wanting and waiting, wishing and hoping, Riley Biers was all mine. My heart's deepest desire. I felt at home at last.

*~N~* *~N~* *~N~* *~N~*