Story of the Week - Fade Into You by RCD-Alice

by RCD-Alice
Rating: NC17
Characters: Bella and Edward

Summary:A different kind of message in a bottle. More like a letter in a Starbucks comfy cushion. Is it fate? ExB AU/AH Canon. Slight OOC M to be safe *wink*

Dear…Whoever happens upon this,

I don't know who you are, and I assume I never will. Actually I sort of hope we never meet as I'm about to whine away on this piece of lined paper for you to see.

You likely have already stopped reading, but I just feel the need to tell somebody, anybody really, the things that eat away at me day after day. Perhaps that will satisfy my overactive brain for a few minutes so I can at least get a few minutes of much needed sleep.

Now you're wondering why I don't tell my friends, my family, my significant other, or even my pet and leave you the hell alone, but that's just simply impossible.

I'm painfully shy. Even if I did have all of those aforementioned relationships (which are few and far between in my case) I would die before bringing my insecurities and problems up to the forefront for them to do with as they please. This right here is problem number one. I'm shy, insecure and plain. That's how I would describe myself. Boring and plain. Plainly boring, if you will.

I can't count on two hands (as there are far too many) the amount of missed opportunities that have breezed past me in my lifetime.

I am your average, plain, boring twenty two year old college student, who has yet to go on a date, or even kiss a boy. I don't blame it all on my inability to initiate things. That would be the coward's way out. The rest of that blame goes to the fact that I am simply uninteresting, and I assume unattractive, as I've never had the words 'you're pretty' uttered to me. That's right. Never once.

I'd like to find love someday. I want to find that spark, that magnetic pull that suspends time and gravity. I do. It just doesn't seem to be in my cards.

I wonder if you're still reading this. If you are, I apologize. You really don't have to.

Are you in college? Because I am. It's so demanding and difficult. Even more so when you're damn near invisible. I hate say that I envy people that have the ability to speak up, make themselves known, but I do. It doesn't matter what they say, it is definitely about whom you know not so much as WHAT you know. I've realized that when a professor is grading papers he or she will give more attention to names they know whether they are known for good or bad reasons. It's a subconscious thing. Therefore, the professor comes across my paper, sees a name that doesn't even register. He skims, gives it an average mark and moves on. This means that I have to work twice as hard as someone else, just to receive that slightly above average grade.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I'm a genius or anything. Far from it I'm sure. It still sucks.

Still reading? I know, I know. But to be fair, I did say I was going to whine. And life sucks. There's an awful lot to whine about. There's no way to sugar coat it, it just plain freaking sucks.

My parents died last year. They were in a car accident on their way to visit me at school. I don't want pity. It's just another way that life sucks.

They were both only children, their parents long gone, and I as well an only child. That left me. I'll live though. And unlike most people, I don't blame myself for that accident. Even though they were on their way to visit me, I was not the truck driver who fell asleep t the wheel on the highway. No, no. I place all the blame on him.

Speaking of trucks, mine is a piece of shit. Honestly, some days it doesn't even run at all. Makes me feel so much better when that happens. Yeah, I just rolled my eyes as I wrote that.

Sucky truck.

When I was in high school, I was anorexic. I'm not anymore…I don't think so anyways. I mean, I eat. Not hoards of food or anything, but I eat. And it isn't often that it comes back up. Actually, I can't remember the last time it did.

It just occurred to me that I'm pretty much just randomly jotting stuff down here for you to read. No rhyme, no reason. That's how my life feels. My brain works a million miles a minute with no rhyme or reason. No reprieve either. That's kind of the point of this exercise. I'd be mortified if I was saying this out loud, or even if I had to watch you read it, right there in front of me.

But the thing is, I need to sleep. I haven't slept a full night in so long that I just might die of shock if or when it actually happens. I just can't seem to turn my brain off long enough to get a decent REM cycle on the go.

God, do those words even make sense?

I do believe I've taken up more than enough of your time…that is if you didn't flounce five words in. I hope I haven't ruined your day…

Sincerely, Me

Story of the Week - 100 Hours by wytchwmn75

100 hours
by wytchwmn75
Rating: NC17
Characters: Bella and Edward

Summary: Bella has a 4.0 GPA & volunteers at the hospital. Edward is pierced & has tattoo's & has to serve 100 hours community service at the hospital. What happens when the bad boy finds out the good girl has a wild side? ExB, AH, OOC, Rated M

Bella Swan did not babysit. If she did, she would've picked that as her community service project, but she couldn't stand kids. They cried, pooped in their pants, and puked all over the place with no regards to the cashmere sweater you were wearing. Quite frankly, they scared the ever loving shit out of her. That was also why, at seventeen, she was possibly the only girl in the junior class at The Volturi Academy that was on the pill and made the boys suit up; there was no way she wanted to end up pregnant, twice, like Lauren Mallory.

So why is it, she wondered, I'm expected to babysit some delinquent teenage boy? It's not her fault that he got caught doing God knows what and landed himself one hundred hours of community service here at Forks Community Hospital. Bella loved volunteering at the hospital, and wasn't too happy that, what had become one of the bright spots in her week, would be marred by a stupid boy who didn't know how not to get caught.

She was aware most people considered her a geek, or a nerd, but she never gave much thought to what the populace had to say. Besides, there were only a few privileged people that knew the real Bella Swan. If her love of volunteering or her place as student body President didn't get her an all access pass into the world of lepers, then her 4.0 GPA and Chief of Police Daddy status cemented it. Bella, though, was sure she'd have the last laugh. That GPA and list of extracurricular activities would get her into any school she applied to, and she most certainly would not be applying to any schools in Washington. As for her Daddy, Charlie, the Chief of Police? What most people didn't know was that he and his wife Renee were hippies once upon a time. Although they didn't wear patchouli or burn incense, they had a very lax attitude towards their only child. She was more of a friend than a dependent.

Charlie and Renee had one basic rule for Bella: she could do what she wanted as long as she was open about it and let them know what was going on. It worked well since the topic was introduced on her eleventh birthday. She never took much advantage of this rule, knowing that her parents trust was something she cherished. When she turned fifteen and wanted to go on the pill (because everyone else was), she explained in great detail to her parents the pros and cons of the decision. The next day, Renee took her to the doctor and Bella went on the pill. On her sixteenth birthday she wanted to try smoking, Charlie bought her a pack and watched in amusement as his daughter choked then promptly decided smoking was disgusting and not for her. Basically she could come home and say she wanted a tattoo or to get pierced and she would have her parents' approval. Bella treated her freedom with respect and would never endanger it. Most adults saw her as trustworthy and she knew it was because of her parents and their unconventional parenting skills.

Mrs. Cope, the supervisor for all the volunteers, loved Bella. She wasn't like the other teenagers that volunteered; she actually worked. Many nights she would be found on the geriatric unit reading to some of the patients or just sitting and talking to some lonely soul. There was always a smile on her face and she was the first person everyone asked for if something needed to be done. Mrs. Cope had even joked with one of the doctors about possibly cloning her.

It was with a heavy heart that Mrs. Cope was asking Bella to keep an eye out for the new volunteer. She knew Bella would see it as some sort of punishment when in reality it was quite the opposite. In fact, Dr. Cullen had specifically asked that Bella be the one to oversee the training of his teenaged son. He was hoping that she'd be a positive influence on Edward. The boy needed to be opened up to things other than smoking, drinking ,and defacing public property. Dr. Cullen had no doubt in his mind that these were activities that Ms. Swan never partook in. If it weren't for the fact that Dr. Cullen was an upstanding citizen and a brilliant doctor, he was sure that Edward would have been locked up. Thankfully he managed to convince the judge that he would personally supervise his community service and would never appear in front of Judge Demetri again.

As Bella sat at the reception desk on that first Saturday morning of February, a storm was brewing in her head and she had a hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach. Absentmindedly she was playing with the corner of her lip, which many could tell you was a sign that she was worried. However, before she had any time to contemplate this, someone was standing in front of her, clearing their throat. Not bothering to look up from the computer screen in front of her, she greeted the visitor.

"Welcome to Forks Community Hospital. How may I help you today?" Her voice sounded enthusiastic and only the most astute person could pick up on the annoyed undertone.

"I'm here to see Mrs. Cope, and some ass kisser named Isabella Swan." Edward was showing off and could only hope that this girl was not friends with Isabella Swan.

Story of the Week - Love this Pain by TwilightCakes

Love this Pain
by TwilightCakes
Rating: NC17
Characters: Seth

Summary: Seth Clearwater is a 27 year old police officer and werewolf extraordinaire in Forks, just biding his time while he waits to find his imprint. Regan is not at all what he expected, but he is determined to win her over & show that they're meant to be.

I think I was technically about twenty four when I stopped looking for my imprint. Or was it twenty five? I could never be too sure really. As it was I had trouble remembering how old I really was after lying about it for so many years. I'm not sure how we wolves thought we'd get away with that whole 'No really, we age, we just have good genes' fib. It worked on the rez, but that was about the only place. The people in La Push knew that something wasn't quite right with a few of us, but they had all heard the legends. They pretty much kept their mouths shut and didn't ask many questions.

I couldn't remember how old I was most of the time, much less how old I was when I gave up and stopped looking for her. Waiting for her… Pining for her…

After over a decade as a wolf, I just figured that it wasn't gonna happen to me.

I would get over it…eventually. Most of the guys thought of 'The Big I', or imprinting, as an added perk to the otherwise sucky lifestyle of being a member of the pack. However, I really didn't mind being a member of the pack. In fact, I had always liked it. I could see into the minds of my brothers, and those who hadn't imprinted and who weren't like me – a general optimist – were more likely to grumble about patrols or wish to retire quickly. But not me. Just because I was a wolf I didn't let it run my whole life. I had done the college thing, albeit community college since I couldn't really go far with my pack responsibilities, but had graduated just the same. Honestly, I hadn't really wanted to go far or do much other than be a wolf.

Like I said, most of us looked forward to imprinting because we had seen into the minds of those who had done it and well…it looked really cool. How could it not be? Those happy bastards rarely knew what hit them. Why wouldn't we want to have something like that in our lives? It was something to look forward to; something to make a sometimes bleak existence as a furry animal that patrolled for monsters worthwhile. Take one of my best friends, Quil Ateara for example. Looking into his mind for the first seven years of his imprint Claire's life had been like watching Sesame Street while stoned. Everything was funny, light, and nothing ever really bothered him.

This was Quil's mindset:

Lost his job because he overslept again after a night after patrolling? It'll be fine I get to babysit Claire this Saturday night.

Break your wrist (paw) while wrestling with Brady? Its okay, Claire got an A on her science project.

World is ending, the sun is crashing into the earth, and we're all going to combust? Will Claire be there?

See? The way I figure, how could life be that bad if that's how you thought of everything? I had looked forward to imprinting for years, and I hadn't really made that a secret. I already loved my life as a wolf, and as I waited, I loved my life as a police officer. I was on the force in Forks with my stepdad, Charlie Swan, who I honestly liked and enjoyed working with. Things were going great for me, and I looked forward to finally having a life of my own with whoever the lucky girl was going to be.

So I waited.

STORY OF THE WEEK - Red Eyes and the She Wolf by Leanne GoLightly

Red Eyes and the She Wolf
By Leanne GoLightly
Rated NC17
Characters: Leah and Demetri

Summary: FORBIDDEN LEMONS CONTEST WINNER - Vampires and wolves just shouldn't happen, but damn it he was slick. But what can I say? I was a sucker for his accent and the way he spoke Italian. Leah neglects her pack duties to get it on with a vampire. Lemons/Angst

"Do you mind if I call you Leah?" he asked softly. He was exceptionally polite and well spoken, making even Edward Cullen seem coarse. He made me feel rough like sandpaper.

"I'd rather you didn't call me anything," I snorted. "Why are you here? How did you find me?"

The vampire smiled. "I found you because that is what I do, and I'm very good at it. I'm exceptional, which is part of the reason I am here. The Volturi are a collection of only the best, most talented amongst our kind. We are now of the idea that maybe our number shouldn't be limited to just vampires. We would never consider a true werewolf, but your tribe interests us. We would like to know more about you and give you the opportunity to do likewise.

"I have been sent here to find a shape shifter who may be open to the idea of joining us in Volterra. I have been watching you from a distance for quite some time. I believe you are a little unhappy here in Washington, so you were my first choice. I'd like you to return with me to Italy."

"You want me to come and hang around with a bunch of vampires in Europe?" I laughed out loud, and for a moment I was unable to form any words. Something in the good-looking leech's face told me that the offer was in fact genuine, and that sobered my humour.

"Thanks, but no thanks. You eat humans, right? I don't fancy being lunch."

"I can assure you that I don't think of you as food." He grinned back at me. "You aren't completely human, in the generally accepted sense."

"Oh yeah. We smell as bad to you as you do to us." I blushed. "Like wet dog, right? Not exactly edible."

"Leah." he shook his head. "The vampires you are more accustomed to, their sense of smell is as off as their taste buds. You don't smell like wet dog. Granted some of your male counterparts do, but you smell like... nature."

"Nature?" I choked. I didn't know if he was toying with me or genuine. Certainly I'd like to think I didn't smell like damp canine.

"Yes, Leah." He smiled down at me. "Like a walk in the woods."

His voice was mesmerizing. For a second I succumbed to his vampire spell, as if I was a regular girl. Then I remembered that those pretty eyes, creasing in the corners as they observed me, were red with human blood.

Damn, the guy was slick.

"I'd much rather have you come with me to Volterra," he said softly. "I get the feeling you'd be much better company than the others in your pack, sei molto bella."

Story of the Week - The Underside of Earth by loss4words

The Underside of Earth
by loss4words
Rating R
Characters: Edward and Bella

We drive a few blocks, but take our time on the icy roads. The mixture of snow and sleet is really making it slick. We pull up to the stoplight that is just two blocks from the ice cream parlor; I can already taste the mixture of salty pecans, cool, sweet vanilla ice cream and smooth warm fudge. I'm brought out of my musings by a sharp, piercing noise. It sounds like a shrill train whistle, but the sound is all wrong. All wrong.

It all happens so fast.

I turn my head to the left, just in time to see the logging truck come slamming into the driver's side door. Into my husband. I feel like I am stuck in a slow-motion sequence of a movie.

I reach out for him, only to grasp at air.

I sit up in my huge bed, panting and covered in sweat, my arms are still out in front of me reaching for him. I had the dream again. I knew it would come again, but so soon? It has been coming more and more frequently. And of course I know why, but even after it is gone and past, will they go away? Will they crawl back to that little closet in my mind and give me some time to recover, or will they continue to haunt me, and not allow me to get on with the day to day things in life?

I thought I'd been getting better. Apparently not.

...

I cringe at the barrage of images that flood my memory. Enough of that.

I log onto Ravelry and start my search; this site is truly fantastic. You can just go from picture to picture, and I do, looking for just the right Rosalie kind of glove. I don't even feel myself slipping this time.

Glass shattering, metal crunching like a fist crunches paper. The metal skid of the car being pushed along pavement. PAIN!

Pain.

Pain.

Numb.

Total numbness.

Where is he?

I can't see you, baby! Where are you?

Arms out in front.

I'm trying, but I can't find you. It's so dark!

"Goodbye, Bella. I'll love you for always and take care of him. Be well, my wife."

"No! Stay with me! Please! Take care of him WHO? WHERE ARE YOU?"

Hands, the hands are all over me, and I can't fight them away.

So I let the black consume me, with hands still grasping at me.

"BELLA!"

Story of the Week - Chase by smexy4smarties

Chase
by smexy4smarties
Rating: NC17
Characters: Edward and Bella
Summary: Whether she's running away or running towards him, he follows. He has to, otherwise they're both lost. But how long can two people play cat and mouse before it fizzles? What other way could these two possibly keep each other? AU/AH

The kitchen table was sturdy and unyielding. The words on the papers were constant, and they remained the same no matter how many times I held the sheets close to my face and squinted in an attempt to skew my perception. Legal documents were not like modern art; tipping one's head to the side didn't make them better, didn't alter them in any way.

No matter what I did, this situation didn't change. The only variable in this equation was me.

I'd thought that he was stuck here with me in the world of round singing and stories that end with, "Once upon a time." I'd been comfortable in the knowledge that if I was trapped in this experiment as the manipulated variable, then he would always be my response. His becoming the controlled variable just wasn't something I could have anticipated; I never foresaw him drawing such a firm line in the sand.

I never figured on myself being so stupid as to cross it.

I knew it wasn't only lack of intelligence that had prompted my reactions, but it was hard to remember all my morals and justifications when the cold ink teased me so mercilessly.

Superior Court of Washington

County of Clallam

In re the Marriage of:

Edward Anthony Cullen, Petitioner,

and

Isabella Marie Cullen, Respondent.

Isabella Marie Cullen. I'd run from her for so long, and now, here she was. He wasn't supposed to be able to find her – she was supposed to be a forgotten identity – but she existed, and Edward knew it. Edward found her and assigned her a case number.

Story of the Week - Just Standing There by Le Crepescule

Rating: NC17
Characters: Edward and Bella

Summary: Geekward strives to do his absolute best his entire life. He only ever cared about being completely focused on working his hardest to get into the school of his dreams. Can anything happen to help loosen him up? AH, M for Lemons.

"Frick, I swear… always happens to me... geeze," she muttered to herself before meeting my eyes. "Ok, I swear I'm not some creepy chick who goes around falling all over hot guys all the time… actually, I fall about ninety percent of the time, however, not usually on top of someone." She smiled sheepishly after she concluded with her rambling, looking around awkwardly.

"Not a problem. Really… are you alright…?" I inquired; concerned that she may have injured herself, while still wanting to know her name.

"Bella and I might have injured my wrist...but I'm alright otherwise," She admitted quietly, while nodding her head in the affirmative. Suddenly she jumped back (more like rolled off) while blushing madly once she realized she was still lying on top of me. "Sorry," she said embarrassed, as I honestly was tempted to hold her there, but it seems my body was just a little too stirred up to allow that to happen. I really hope she didn't notice that little tidbit. I wanted to wrap my body around hers, and keep Bella where she fit the best… firmly against my side.

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Story of the Week - A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes by confettirainfall

Rating: M
Characters: Edward and Bella

Summary: Bella's life is full of trauma/tragedy; a child the 1st time her path crosses w/the Cullens; how does Edward resist his singer? What does Bella think of family that saves her time and again?

Looking back, it's amazing I made it this far. My life has been a roller coaster ride and most of the time the ride wasn't worth the price of admission. As much as I enjoy amusement parks, they aren't always fun when your stomach ends up in your throat doing the tango. Even during the most difficult times, I've tried to be a "glass half full" kind of person, but life kept throwing me curveballs. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried, my perspective changed from "the glass is half full" to "the glass is half empty" to "the damn glass broke and I cut my finger cleaning up the pieces."

I should have died at the age of seven, but I didn't. I now know how I survived not only that day but each and every incident, tragedy, and drama that surrounded my life and it's all because of him. My family thought I was their "miracle child" since I seemed to slip through Death's grasp so many times, but I know the real reason. It was him. All along.

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Story of the Week - The Ride by Aylah50

Rating: NC17
Characters: Edward and Bella

Summary: Bella and Edward meet at a concert as teenage strangers during the height of grunge in the 90's. When their paths cross 14 years later, Edward is stuck in the past while Bella is fleeing from hers.

We arrived at the concert, buzzing with energy, all of us wearing our new respective outfits and jewelry. The girls had loved their gifts, and had insisted we all wear the matching crest. Alice had dressed Jasper in her pre-planned outfit: baggy jeans, heavy boots, a blue, grey and white plaid button down and a grey T-shirt underneath. We didn't have seats – just tickets to the floor area. As I had predicted on the drive up, it was a festival-type atmosphere. The crowd was moving against one another; bumping and spinning without a care in the world. Almost the instant the band started, Alice and Jasper disappeared to make out in a corner somewhere, Emmett threw himself into the mosh pit, and Rosalie went outside with some sorority girls she knew from high school for a smoke.

I stood around the fringe of the pit, lurking in the dark, my body tingling with the realization that this could be it; this may be the moment where I would finally have that sensation I'd been craving. I wanted to do something wild and irresponsible, to feel alive. I ran my hand over my chin, feeling the stubble. Alice had convinced me not to shave earlier, telling me it made me look cooler. I was reeling with the vitality of the crowd. The band started up "Lighting Crashes" and everyone went crazy. The people on the floor were flowing around in a wild mess; they seemed to be feeling the music so deeply that it overtook their entire bodies. I was intrigued to join the rush. It was volatile and thrilling, but then suddenly a figure on the edge of the crowd caught me off guard.

It was her, the girl from the mall.

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Story of the Week - Ame Soeur by ange de l'aube

Rating: NC17
Characters: Edward and Bella
Summary: AH/OOC. Edward and Bella are haunted by dreams. Dreams about a past that is not even theirs. Or is it? Their worlds will turn upside-down once these two lost souls find each other. Is this really the first time they have met?

Tears were streaming down the girl's face but they weren't typical tears of sadness. They say the eyes are the window to the soul; they are also the means through which your soul bleeds when it's wounded—or in this case, broken.
The girl hugged herself like she was trying to contain the broken pieces of her soul escaping her body. However, souls once broken cannot be easily glued back together like a broken vase. No, broken souls are almost impossible to mend or contain. They seep out of our bodies, dissolve into space, and get lost. She was a lost soul now.

A boy stood near the door, wearing a pained look. He was struggling with himself. He wanted to console the girl, but his own pain was just too much to allow him the strength to be of any comfort. His soul, too, had left his body. He was soulless, empty.

"I love you…" the girl murmured in a soft broken voice.

"I do too," the boy answered simply. "But it's just not enough. You've broken every piece of me. I have nothing left to give."

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Story of the Week - Let Him In by Lezlee

Rated NC17
Characters: Edward and Bella

Summary: Bella Swan's life is structured and predictable until she meets a dangerous stranger in a dark alley. Rated M for adult content; lemons and some foul language.

"Take whatever you want. Take my purse," I whispered to him, while he pinned me roughly against the wall. He didn't seem to notice. He wanted more than money. I started to tremble and I could feel my pulse in my busted-up forehead. I'm going to die. I wept at that thought. I decided I would let him do whatever he wanted, I wouldn't try to fight back, then maybe he wouldn't kill me.

He jerked me around to face him, I guess he wanted to see my face while he killed me or did worse. He held me still by a handful of my hair, always keeping the other hand free.

I saw something then that caused my stomach to flip-flop. This man looked nothing like any man I had ever seen. He had high, strong cheek bones, pale skin and broad shoulders. What made him different, though, were his eyes. They were bright red. Not red like a druggie, actual red irises.

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