Impressions-Twilight fanfic chapter 8
Title: Impressions
Rating: PG-13 (Language)
Summary: Bella is a single, shy, and timid writer. Edward is an engaged, charming, and handsome businessman. What do you get when Bella has to cover "Seattle's New Couple?"
Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer I own nothing.
Comments: AU, AH. I couldn't get this plot bunny out of my head. It demanded to be written.
Title: Impressions
Rating: PG-13 (Language)
Summary: Bella is a single, shy, and timid writer. Edward is an engaged, charming, and handsome businessman. What do you get when Bella has to cover "Seattle's New Couple?"
Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer I own nothing.
Comments: AU, AH. I couldn't get this plot bunny out of my head. It demanded to be written.
Chapter 8
Bella's POV.
It had been two days since my lunch date slash meeting with Edward and today I was at the office sitting; on my desk, trying to type out a few things. I had my recorder next to me the one I used at my lunch with Edward. After my lunch I went back to my apartment and got started on writing a draft of his part of the interview.
Today was quite slow. I really didn't need to be here, but it was too boring to be in the apartment. I still haven't had a chance to talk with Tanya and it was really bugging me. She was the one who wanted to be in the magazine. She was the one who wanted all of this. And now she couldn't even find time to commit to this. Ugh. Figures.
I finally decided that I wasn't going to get anything done. I packed up my stuff and got up. I put my coat on and bent to grab my purse; just then, my phone rang.
"Hello?" I said into the phone.
"Ms. Swan?" said a feminine voice.
"Yes?"
"Hi this is Tanya. Did I call at a bad time?"
"Oh no, you didn't. What can I do for you Tanya?" I said as I slouched back into my chair.
"Well, I know you've talked to Edward but you haven't talked to me. I apologize for that. I didn't foresee all this stuff happening at my store. But, if you'd like, we could go to dinner and talk?"
Oh dear. She actually sounded sincere. I wanted to say no. But I couldn't. What other time would I have to interview her? She could flake on me again but it was now or never.
"Yea sure. Tonight?"
"Yes, tonight is perfect. Edward is working late so he won't be expecting me." she answered.
"Ok. Where would you like to go?" I asked.
"Can you meet me at the little Japanese place, I'm sure you know it. It's right around the corner from your office."
I knew the place. I didn't eat Japanese a lot but I was desperate to get this over with.
"Yes I know it. What time?"
"Does now sound too soon?" she asked.
"No, it's fine. I'm leaving my office now." I said.
"Good. I'm already on my way." she said back.
"I'll meet you there." And with that, I hung up the phone and made my way out.
I was at the restaurant within fifteen minutes. Tanya had gotten there before me and I spotted her immediately. I sat down across her and after exchanging pleasantries we looked over the menu.
The waiter brought out two glasses of ice water. Then he asked for our drink orders. Tanya and I settled on hot tea and soda. An interesting combination, but we figured we couldn't eat Japanese without getting the customary hot tea.
We were still mulling over the dinner choices when the waiter came back for our order. After telling him we needed more time to deiced he left us. Tanya looked up from her menu to ask me a question.
"Would you like to share sushi? I'm torn between the salmon and sushi but I know I can't eat it all." she admitted.
"Sure, I'll share with you." I said with a smile.
She returned my smile and thanked me.
The waiter came back and Tanya ordered the teriyaki salmon while I ordered the ordinary teriyaki chicken. Then Tanya said we would be sharing the California and dragon roll plate.
While Tanya was ordering I found myself studying her. I knew Tanya was pretty. When I first saw her at her dinner party I could see how beautiful she is. Her blonde locks with blue eyes. She's slim and tall. No wonder Edward proposed. But as she was ordering, I realized I had misjudged her. I had originally deemed her as just a pretty face but I could tell that she is a smart and confident woman. And she was nice. Over the phone I had thought she seemed fake and forced and maybe she was but I did find certain sincerity in her.
I saw that Tanya was pouring out two cups of hot tea for us. She slid a cup over to me and then settled into her seat with her own. She sighed contentedly.
I gave her a small smile. "Long day?" I asked.
She looked at me, "Too long." she agreed.
She put her tea cup down and placed her napkin on her lap. "So Ms. Swan, why don't we continue our talk?"
I put down my tea cup. "Please. Call me Bella." I said.
"Ok Bella." she replied.
I brought out my recorder and put in on and placed it in the middle of the table. "This is pretty general, but what do you like about Edward?"
Tanya leaned back into her seat again and smiled. "Edward is, incredible. I know I've said this before, but he is everything that I could ever want. He's the ideal you know?"
"The ideal what?" I asked confused.
"He's the standard. He's what every girl should look for in a husband. He's handsome, he's caring, he's well educated, he's successful. He's got everything."
In that instant I knew Tanya was not a gold digger. Rather, she had this obstruct worldview. She thought Edward was the ideal husband. I mean sure, their story sounds great. Family friends, went their separate ways but then found each other after college, started dating, and finally two years later engaged. But something about Tanya and Edward's relationship seemed forced. I'm not saying that they didn't love each other, but it just didn't scream "I'm so in love with you-I can't live without you" type of love.
Damn it. There I go again over-analyzing this relationship; when it's not my place to do so. What in the hell am I doing? Ok really, just because I may think that doesn't mean it's true. But then their marriage might not last if they aren't in love with each other. Oh screw it. If they wanna fuck their lives up then so be it. Why am I even thinking this?
"He sounds wonderful." I replied to her.
She nodded her head. "He is."
Our sushi arrived, and I turned off the recorder. Tanya took the liberty to pour out the wasabi and soy sauce. I picked up my chopsticks and grabbed a California roll. The sushi was good. And Tanya and I talked a bit. We spoke nothing of great importance but just regular chit chat. As we finished our sushi I put the recorder back on and asked her more questions.
I asked her about his proposal, their first date, what made their relationship special and so on and so forth. Tanya's answers once again, were not filled with passion or love. Instead they were common. It reflected her obstruct worldview. I had a horrible feeling that Tanya was not in love with Edward. She probably cared for him. And yes, loved him but she wasn't in love with him. She just didn't come alive when she talked about him. And come to think of it; Edward himself seemed guarded during our times together. He was never keen on answering my questions. He always seemed torn. Perhaps for Tanya and Edward it was just a matter of convenience.
Before I knew it our food arrived and the recorder was turned off again. I put it away; I was sure that I had enough to write about.
While we ate Tanya and I continued to talk. I learned that she enjoys shopping (just like Rose I thought.) She also likes to cook; although she said she can't cook a lot of dishes. She then asked me questions. Questions such as, where I'm from, where I went to school. It was like we were new friends. Huh, friends with Tanya? I suppose we could be friends. We got a long fine, more so than Edward and I did at least.
After we finished our dinner Tanya and I said our goodbyes. I assured her that I had enough to write with. And she said that she had called Tyler and that he would be photographing her and Edward at some studio in downtown Seattle. She insisted that I come with Tyler just so I could ask her and Edward any last minute questions. I agreed and we departed.
***
I was sprawled out on my bed; my laptop was sitting in front of me. I had a a blank word processor opened, ready to begin fusing Tanya's interview with my rough draft of Edward's. Even though I believed that they weren't in love with each other I was still gonna bull shit this piece to appease Tanya. It was the least I could do. I mean she and I got a long well and I could tell that this is what she really wanted. Edward, not so much but I had given up on trying to figure him out. He was just so different and strange.
I started typing then and I didn't realize Rosalie walking into my bedroom.
"Hey." she said as she plopped down on the other side of my bed.
"Hey." I acknowledged her without taking my eyes off of my laptop screen.
"Belllllaaaa." she whined.
"Hmm, yes?" I said warily.
"I have stuff to tell you!" she said excitedly.
I saved my document then closed out of the program. I turned to face Rose.
"Ok, you have my undivided attention."
She smiled widely. "Yes! Ok, let's go to the living room this calls for ice cream talk!"
Laughing, I followed her into the living room. She went to the kitchen and got out two spoon and opened the freezer to reveal a half pint of Rocky Road ice cream.
"So what stuff do you have to tell me?" I asked as she handed me a spoon.
"I had lunch with Emmett the other day." she said.
I dropped my spoon. "Emmett? The guy who you hit it off with but thought who was cheating on you, Emmett? Emmett, Edward's brother, Emmett?" I asked for clarification.
She nodded her head. "The very one."
I picked up my fork and scooped some ice cream, "So, what happened?"
She swallowed a bite of ice cream. "Well turns out that girl who we saw him with was an old friend." I gave her a quizzical brow. She held up her hand, "I know. I know. Old friend? But then I found out that she's a lesbian so you know, old friend."
I laughed out loud. "That's good to know."
"Yup." she agreed.
"Do you like him?'
"Yes. He's like the only guy that can keep up with me. And I don't know but it's different with him." she said shrugging.
"If you're happy Rose then that's all that matters."
"I guess you're right." she agreed.
We kept digging into the ice cream. Neither one of us had any will power against sweets. Once we had one bite; it was really hard to stop.
"What were you doing on your laptop?"
"I was writing a rough draft of Edward and Tanya's interviews." I answered.
"Oh, how's that coming?"
I licked my spoon. "Fine."
"Just fine?"
"Yea." I said uncertainly.
"Belllaaa," she whined, "you can tell me!"
"Rose, there is nothing to tell."
"You know Edward's kinda gorgeous." Rose said nonchalantly.
I rolled my eyes. "He is gorgeous." I said without thinking.
Rosalie's eyes danced. "If I didn't like Emmett so much I'd totally go for Edward." she said.
I dropped my spoon again. "Rose!" I said shocked. "He's married!"
"Engaged Bella. There's a difference."
"Whatever he's off limits"
She grinned. "Is that what you tell yourself?"
I got up. "This conversation is over."
"Oh Bella, its ok to admit the engaged man is gorgeous. It's not like you'll act on impulse and jump the guy." she said laughing.
"Goodnight Rosalie!" I called as I headed to my bedroom.
"You're no fun, Bells." she said with a pout.
"I love you too." I hollered at her.
Edward's POV.
Two days since I had lunch with Bella. I knew to Bella; our lunch was nothing more than business for her. But to me, it wasn't. I wanted to be around her. I wanted to actually get to know her. I wanted to have a conversation with her; one without involving my engagement or Tanya.
Shit. I knew I shouldn't want these things. I should suppress the urge to get to know Bella. I should just forget about her. But this proved to be a lot more difficult than I thought.
I loved Tanya. I did. She is attractive, nice, and successful. Our families go way back. We know each other. We understand how things are. It had been a long time since I'd actually cheated on her. I know that sounds bad but I made it clear to her that I couldn't commit. But she kept hanging around so eventually I stopped hurting her and proposed. Now that she had a ring on her finger we were exclusively for each other. I wasn't going to cheat on her. Not with Bella. Bella deserved better. No, asshole, Tanya deserves better.
Well just because I wasn't about to cheat on Tanya doesn't mean that I can't have Bella as a friend, right?