AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello, hello. Here is a fun little story I wrote for the Revenge of the Nerds Contest hosted by TwiFandomNews. It won 3rd Place Public Vote—how awesome is that?! Thanks to TFN for hosting, and hugs and kisses to everyone who read, reviewed, and voted in the contest! As always, love to AngelGoddess1981 for beta'ing!

DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. I just borrowed their characters to make something adorkable! No copyright infringement is intended.

– Potions & Promises –

(Edward)

"I feel like an idiot," I grumbled, for at least the dozenth time.

Being me wasn't easy under the best of circumstances, with my untamable bronze-red hair, my long gangly frame, and feet that grew faster than my coordination could keep up with. I tripped, stumbled, and bumped my way through this awkward teenage life, and that was just the physical side of things.

My personality was … well, even I knew I was a nerd.

But this, right here and now—it was a new low, even for me.

"Tell me again why we're doing this?" I asked my best friend, who was striding along determinedly beside me.

Emmett smoothed down the front of his enormously billowing jacket. He looked like some kind of insane steampunk mountain in a tangled brown long-haired wig, an equally long and raggedy fake beard, motorcycle goggles resting on his forehead, and a rumpled brown leather coat reaching almost to his ankles. "Because Rosalie's hosting and tonight is my night," he answered confidently. "I mean come on …" He turned toward me as we walked, holding his arms outstretched to his sides. "What girl could resist this?"

"Uh, all of them? You look fucked up, dude."

Emmett glared at me. "This costume is epic," he retorted. "You'll see."

I rolled my eyes and sighed, remembering irritably, for the thirteenth time now, the ridiculous outfit he had forced me into. I was wearing a robe, for fuck's sake, and carrying a wand. Never mind the stupid Lennon glasses and the lightning bolt he had drawn on my forehead. I scratched at the back of my neck in annoyance; the dark-brown dye he had sprayed on my hair was itchy and driving me crazy.

"Who am I again?"

"Harry Potter," Emmett grumbled, his eyes narrowing as they swiveled toward me. "And stop being such a fucking whiner about it. You're the hero of the whole goddamn story. I thought you'd appreciate that."

"You thought I'd appreciate being dressed up as some stupid wizard from a kid's book and then dragged to a lame costume party? Yeah. Thanks a billion."

"It's not a costume party. It's cosplay. It's different," Emmett insisted.

"You dress up in a costume and go hang around with other people dressed up in costumes … how is that different?"

Emmett glared at me again. "It just is. You'll see. Trust me, it'll be fun."

Famous last words. Neither 'trust me' nor 'it'll be fun' ever actually turned out that way, and I knew it.

"Can't we just go back to my place and play Neverwinter Nights?" I pleaded. "I'll buy the snacks. Mountain Dew, Doritos … gummy bear-r-rs," I offered cajolingly.

"Nope," Emmett answered firmly. "How are either of us ever going to get laid if we just hide out playing X-box in your basement all the time?"

I snorted derisively. I was pretty sure my chances of ever getting laid hinged on a lot more than just getting out of the house. There was the much bigger issue of me just being me. A crack in the sidewalk caught my shoe and I tripped, stumbling a few steps and nearly falling on my face before I managed to right myself. Yeah, exactly.

Edward Cullen just wasn't 'get laid' material.

Girls didn't like me. Most guys didn't like me either, but I cared less about that. I was pretty sure I wasn't ugly or gross or anything, but I wasn't the type of person that other people gravitated to, either. I lacked charisma. More than that, I was just plain awkward. Embarrassing clumsiness aside, I never knew what to say, especially to girls. I was smart—like, really smart—but all those classes and books never managed to help me find the right words, or to hold back the wrong ones.

To make matters worse, I was pretty sure I wore my discomfort like a hat, too. It was like people could sense there was something wrong with me, that I was someone to be avoided. That if they talked to me, it would be weird and uncomfortable, just like I was. They weren't wrong either, so I really couldn't blame them for keeping a safe distance. Self-preservation instincts and all that.

So, I mostly kept to myself, and Emmett. I'd known him my whole life long, from a time before I was the hot mess of hair and nerves and bumbling limbs that I am now, and it was easy for me to just be myself around him. Clearly it was easy for him to just be himself around me, too, as his current line of conversation was demonstrating.

"It's time, bro. Rosie's not gonna be able to keep her hands off me tonight. And if everything goes right, the rest of her body, too. I mean her tits are just so … rawr." He made a squeezing motion with his hands. "I need them in my face."

I rolled my eyes and scoffed in disgust. Rosalie Hale was a bitch and a half; I had no idea what Emmett saw in her other than a pretty face and a killer body. Okay, well yeah, I could see that part of it … but every time she opened her mouth and a bunch of venom-laced words dripped off her lips, I wanted to punch myself right in the face.

"Does she know I'm coming tonight?" I asked with concern, knowing full well what her opinion of me was. "Or you, for that matter? We're not crashing this thing, are we?"

"She handed me the invite herself," Emmett boasted proudly. "Said I could bring a friend. She had to have known that meant you …"

I scowled as the Hales' mansion loomed largely in front of us. I seriously hoped we weren't walking into some 'Carrie' homecoming situation where they were luring us in just to dump a cauldron of acid on us or something.

"You're sure?"

"One hundred percent. I think she invited the whole Senior Cla—" Emmett stopped talking abruptly and glanced at me with a pained expression, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Yeah, I'm sure."

A withering grimace passed over my face. Apparently 'bring a friend' was code for 'I don't want to talk to that dweeb but bring him along if you must.' Awesome. Though on the plus side, her not wanting to talk to me meant that I didn't have to talk to her, so I supposed I couldn't really be all that bothered about it.

"Fine," I conceded. "Let's just get this over with then."

The Hales' palatial home was alive with signs of a boisterous gathering, the windows bright with flickering lights and a pounding bass line throbbing through the air. We walked up the expansive cobblestone drive, passing the immaculate lawn with its cascading, tiered fountain and finely-groomed topiaries, finally arriving at the regal double front doors. Where, to my shock, we were greeted by two large, looming men in skin-tight black t-shirts.

I looked to Emmett with a flabbergasted gaze. "Bouncers? Seriously?"

Emmett just shrugged. "I guess?" He dug inside his tent of a jacket, eventually pulling out a slightly rumpled card and handing it to one of the muscled behemoths blocking our way. The bouncer scowled at us, looking the invitation over with a flashlight before eventually nodding and stepping aside.

I shook my head as we passed through the threshold. Everything about this party was weird and we'd barely gotten a foot in the door. I looked around apprehensively once we were inside. There were candles and cobwebs, spiders and skulls, towering piles of books stacked all over, and tables of odd-looking food with labels such as 'Pumpkin Pasties' and 'Butterbeer.'

Okay then. This should be … uh …

A young witch bounced over to us, her long blonde hair swaying widely with her excited steps. "Harry, Hagrid … welcome!" she exclaimed. I was pretty sure she didn't know me, but I recognized her immediately—this was Rosalie's younger sister, Lillian. She beamed excitedly as she handed each of us a folded program. "You've gotten here just in time. We're still in the mingling portion of the evening, but we'll be starting the events in five minutes. So please, help yourselves to some refreshments and then choose your station. This is going to be so much fun!"

She turned and bounced off again, leaving me gaping at Emmett in horror. "Events? Stations? We actually have to … do stuff here?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

Emmett glared at me. "Yes, and you will, or so help me I'm telling everyone you had a wet dream about Lara Croft once, the game version. You need to get that stick out of your ass, Edward. Lighten the fuck up and try some things. You never know, you might actually have …" He paused, his eyes flicking back and forth dramatically. "Fun!"

"Fine," I retorted, my face twisting into annoyed resignation. "But you owe me, dude. Fucking huge."

Emmett nodded, his expression satisfied. "Fine. Let's go get some food."

I followed him to a table marked 'The Great Hall', which was under an indigo canopy with twinkling lights sparkling all through the roof. An odd assortment of savory finger-foods were laid out, all appearing to be mini versions of traditional British dishes. Unperturbed, Emmett loaded up a plate with little round meat pies and grabbed a cup labelled … Pumpkin Juice. What the fuck? He sniffed it and then offered it to me with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm good," I said, wrinkling my nose in disgust.

Emmett shrugged and brought the cup to his lips instead, taking a deep swallow. I watched in wary amusement as his eyes squeezed shut and his face contorted into a confounded grimace. Apparently pumpkin juice tasted just as gross as it sounded. I thought he might actually be ready to hurl, so I moved a step back just in case, but instead he shook his head and shrugged again, taking another small sip. He nodded out toward the throng, and with a major side-eye in his direction, I followed.

We reached the center of the foyer, an entrance room that was about the same size as my entire house, where a surprising number of my schoolmates were standing around in costumes. There were witches and wizards everywhere, interspersed with strange looking creatures and what appeared to be some kind of sports team carrying broomsticks.

Wow.

I stood there awkwardly, Emmett munching mini pies beside me, as I watched the scene before me in sick fascination. I had never seen anything like this—it was absolutely bizarre. Honestly, before tonight I'd had no idea kids my age actually did things like this, or anyone for that matter. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, too, talking and laughing, swaying to the music while some were even dancing; I appeared to be the only one who thought this was at all strange. Huh. Maybe I did need to get out more.

Suddenly Emmett gasped, hastily abandoning his half-finished plate and cup to a garbage can just behind us. "There she is," he said, straightening out his beard and smoothing down the front of his coat. I followed his gaze and saw Rosalie Hale, in a pointy-shouldered robe and with a twisted black witch's hat perched on her head. She was speaking regally to her usual group of loyal subjects, a gaggle of equally malevolent girls who hung on her every word. I cringed, both inside and out, knowing full well that Emmett was about to make me go over there.

"How do I look?" Emmett asked. He looked like just as much of a freak show as he did when we first got here, only now he had crumbs in his beard and his coat was covered in greasy splotches from his hands. Add to that the wild, eager look in his eyes …

"You look like a maniac," I said honestly.

Emmett nodded. "Perfect. Let's go."

I followed along in his lumbering wake, keeping myself just barely removed when we stepped up to Rosalie's group. Emmett cleared his throat loudly. "Ahem-ah-hem-ah-hem-hem …" His arms swung back and forth awkwardly as they all turned to him. I'd never seen Emmett look nervous about anything before—ever—and I watched in disbelief as he began to fidget with the front of his jacket. He looked down into Rosalie's shocked gaze, his voice coming out in a low bass rumble. "Minerva …"

Rosalie's glossy pink lips parted and she gaped at Emmett for a second before her expression transformed into a look suggesting that he had just offered her a dead toad. "Ew," she said, punctuating the word with a derisive flick of her fingers. She turned and walked away, her gang of harpies following closely on her heels.

Emmett scowled after them. "All right, then," he said, his face filled with unyielding determination, suddenly back to his normal, painfully over-confident self. "We'll try this another way."

He skulked off in their direction, leaving me standing there in a confused stupor. What was going on here? This was all the strangest thing I'd ever experienced in my life, and we'd barely even been here five minutes. I was pretty sure that Emmett was expecting me to follow him, but the idea of spending even a second more having to look at Rosalie's snooty face kept me rooted to the spot. Although … what the fuck was I supposed to do instead?

The music faded out and Lillian Hale, the same small, long blonde-haired witch she was when we arrived, stepped up onto a low podium, holding a microphone. "Okay, everybody. We've reached the events portion of our evening now, so if you could all make your way to your chosen stations, we'll begin."

People started dispersing in different directions, moving away to either the left or the right, while I stood there in a mild panic.

This sucked. I didn't want to be here at all, let alone participate in some wacko dress-up game with a bunch of weirdoes who wanted nothing to do with me either. I considered leaving—was very seriously considering it, even with the painfully long walk home—when suddenly Lillian Hale popped up in front of me. I jumped back in surprise, nearly knocking over a tower of books that was stacked precariously behind me.

"Do you need some help?" she asked, tipping her little blonde head to the side.

"Uh …"

"Are you not sure where to go? Did you lose your program?"

"I, uh … no," I replied dejectedly, holding it up in front of me. So much for escaping.

"Oh, good. Well, Divination is full, but there's still a spot in the Triwizard Cup. They're reenacting the first challenge. You can fight a dragon!" she offered excitedly.

Yeah-h-h, I was going to have to give that one a hard pass.

"Or if that's not your thing, I think there's still space left in Potions."

Potions. Hmm. That didn't sound quite so horrifying. If I was going to be forcedto participate in this freak show, at least it might be similar to something I knew and understood, like chemistry. Maybe I'd even get to blow something up.

"Uh … okay."

"Follow me," Lillian said, smiling broadly and turning to lead the way.

She took me into a separate room, one with two-person tables set up in three arcing semi-circle rows, all of which faced what I assumed was supposed to be the front of a classroom. There was a blackboard, and a teacher's desk piled with all sorts of odd-looking things, all of it surrounded by more towers of books.

Lillian pointed out a couple of empty spots, and with a mumbled "Thanks," in her direction, I made my way toward an empty table near the back corner. I collapsed into one of the two chairs and rubbed a hand over my forehead, squeezing my eyes shut and pinching the bridge of my nose to try to bring myself back to reality.

I looked up. Nope, still here.

Damn. It was worth a shot.

I was reading over the papers spread out on the tabletop, trying to figure out just what the fuck 'Felix Felicis' and 'Veritaserum' meant, when the chair beside me suddenly moved and someone slid into it. My heart stuttered. This wasn't right; no one ever willingly sat down beside me.

My pulse thudding, I looked up and was met with a head of crazily-teased brown hair, but within the mess was a lovely heart-shaped face, its chocolate-brown eyes and friendly smile pointing right at me. "Hi," said the beautiful stranger, setting her books on the table and folding her hands atop them.

"Uh-h-h-h …" was all I could manage to get out. My mouth was actually hanging open as I stared at her in shock. "Uh …"

She leaned in closer, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I'm Bella. Can I ask your personal name? Or are you strictly in-character?"

I was completely dumbstruck. This beautiful girl had not only sat down next to me, but she was actually talking to me, too? None of her words made any sense, but they were actually words. Kind words. Directed at me. From a girl. A beautiful girl.

What are brain cells? Because I was pretty sure I had none left.

"I, uh … I … Ed. Ward. Edward. I'm Edward." There. That wasn't so hard now, was it?

Unfortunately, yes. Yes, it was.

"Nice to meet you, Edward," she said, looking me over and nodding with approval. "You make a great Harry. Order of the Phoenix, the movie? Your hair is perfect."

I brought a hand up to my crunchy, spray-dyed mane. "Uh … hair? Oh … thank you?"

Bella smiled and looked at me expectantly. I was pretty sure the polite thing to do when receiving a compliment was to offer one in turn, but holy shit, how the fuck did I do that?

"You, uh … you look … um … you … are … uh …"

Her face fell slightly. "I'm Hermione. Can't you tell?"

Oh, shit. She thought I didn't recognize her costume. That was probably a big deal at something like this, and my incoherent babbling had just insulted her without meaning to. I shrugged my shoulders helplessly. "I … sorry. I … don't know … any of this."

Bella's eyes went wide with surprise. "You don't know Harry Potter?"

I shook my head.

"You've never read the books? Or seen the movies?"

I shook my head again.

"Wow," she said. "This all must seem super weird then."

Now she was speaking a language I understood.

"Uh … yes. Very." There we go. One word sentences. If I just stuck to that, maybe I could manage to sound like less of an awkward loser.

Unlikely, but maybe.

Bella smiled at me, her face soft with sympathy. "Well, you are Harry Potter. I hope you know that much at least."

"Uh, yeah."

She tipped her head in acknowledgement, her smile growing wider. "And I'm Hermione. We're best friends."

Once again, I found myself gaping at her. This beautiful girl sat by me, talked to me, smiled at me, and now we were best friends, too? What parallel universe had I stumbled into here?

"We … oh? Um … okay."

Still smiling, Bella brought her elbow onto the tabletop, resting her chin in her palm as she regarded me curiously. "How did you end up here if you have no idea what any of it's about?" she asked kindly.

"Uh … brute force."

Bella giggled, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "I see."

"There will be no foolish wand waving or silly incantations in this class."

Startled by the malevolent quip, I looked up to the front of the 'classroom' where a stringy-haired, scowling man in all black just strode in. He glared around at the assembled desks, fixing each person with a stern eye as they all hurried to straighten up and pay attention.

I glanced at Bella in alarm. "That's Professor Snape," she whispered from the corner of her mouth. "Sh-h-h. Class is starting now."

Deeply concerned, I looked back to the front of the room, where 'Professor Snape' was now pacing back and forth purposefully. He continued on with a menacing speech, laced with not-so-subtle putdowns and phrases like 'entangle the mind' that left me even more nervous than before. I was already feeling rather tangled up in the head sitting beside and attempting to talk to Bella here; I really didn't need to end up drugged or hypnotized or have some other crazy 'magic' pull me even further under.

"You may begin …" the Snape character intoned threateningly, once again glaring around the room before moving to his desk with a dramatic swish of his robes.

"So," Bella said, rubbing her palms together eagerly. "Which potion do you want to start with?"

"Um … I don't know." Holy shit, did I manage to string three consecutive words together there?

"Well, how about we start with Felix Felicis, then? It's liquid luck."

I snorted softy. Luck. Now there was something I could certainly use. Although …

I was still feeling somewhat weird about this whole thing, but Bella had a soft, soothing presence that was actually taking some of my edge off. Suddenly I seemed to be able to connect a few of the words in my brain to the ones that were coming out of my mouth, something I was almost never able to do around other kids my age. "Okay," I said. "Uh … let's do that."

Bella smiled and pulled one of the three small cauldrons set at the front of the table toward us, also grabbing up some little bottles and tins of what I assumed were ingredients. She handed me an unstoppered vial once she had everything we needed.

"Do you want to do the honors?" she asked, nodding toward the empty cauldron.

Well, why the hell not? I was here, with a beautiful girl, feeling oddly coherent in her presence. I might as well just go along with it, even if it did still seem rather silly. I took a deep breath and poured the yellow liquid from the bottle into the pot.

Bella grinned and added a packet of white crystals in after it. "So who's this brute who forced you here?"

"Um, my friend. Emmett." I took the next vial that Bella handed me, upending it into the rest of the mix.

Bella nodded, a small smile playing on her lips again. "Do you know many people here?" She added another packet of crystals, this time light pink.

"Yeah." Unfortunately. "They're from my school."

"Ah," Bella said, handing me yet another small bottle. I dumped it into the cauldron. "Any other friends here?"

"Nope."

She glanced at me from the corner of her eye. "Girlfriend?"

I barked out a short, derisive laugh. "Definitely not."

Bella turned and eyed me curiously. "Why? Are you gay?"

"What?! No!" I sputtered. "No, I'm not … gay. I like girls. They just … they don't … girls don't even talk to me."

Bella tilted her head to the side, regarding me with a perplexing gaze. "I'm a girl. I'm talking to you."

"Yeah, well … you're the first."

"Really," Bella mused, looking away and upending the last ingredient into the cauldron. She stirred it all with a glass stick and then poured the mixture into two shot glasses provided. It popped and fizzled weirdly, a sparkly yellowish color.

I eyed the drink warily when she handed it to me.

"Don't worry, it's just crushed up candy and different liquid sugars," Bella said with a grin. She raised her glass. "Bottoms up!"

I watched her toss back the potion, and with a shake of my head for myself and this weirdness, I followed her lead.

"Hmm. Maybe we'll both get lucky tonight," Bella said just as the liquid hit my throat.

I choked, coughing and spluttering into my sleeve. Did she seriously just say what I thought she did?

My eyes watering, I looked up to see Bella wearing an abashed grin. "I'm sorry. That was poorly timed on my part." She was staring at me mischievously though, with a sparkle in her gaze that left me feeling hotter than even the embarrassment of nearly choking to death a few seconds ago could.

"It's okay," I wheezed. "That was just, uh … unexpected."

Bella giggled. "Totally my bad. Should we move on to the next potion?"

I nodded, still trying to regain my composure. "Sure."

She set about gathering new supplies and a clean cauldron, while I attempted to settle both my body and my mind. Things just kept getting weirder and weirder around here, but it all seemed strangely complicated now, too. Not only did I have zero clue what was going on around me, Bella was adding a whole new level to the weirdness that I hadn't anticipated. I wasn't at all sure what was going on with her, either, and it was freaking me out in a completely different way than I was used to.

"Okay, we're ready," Bella said. She cleared her throat delicately. "This one is called 'Amortentia'. It's a love potion."

My stomach flip-flopped. "A … a love potion?"

Bella nodded, her cheeks slightly pink. "Yep."

"I, uh … I don't … remember reading that … on the worksheet."

I watched in fascination as Bella's cheeks blushed even deeper. "It isn't on there. It's just my favorite, so I thought we'd do it. If you don't mind," she added, darting an inquisitive glance at me.

"Uh, no. I don't mind," I replied, perplexed and more than a little bit nervous.

Bella's face softened and she once again looked at me with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Okay, then. In the H.P. universe, this potion will smell different to everyone, based on what they find most attractive. Obviously that's not actually going to happen here, so we're just going to have to pretend."

She poured what looked like plain water into the cauldron, and then picked up one small, dark bottle from a row she had assembled on the tabletop. I hadn't seen these bottles in the provided supplies; I wondered where she'd gotten them from. She tipped it over top of the pot and let five drops fall in. "There, what does that smell like to you?"

I leaned in and sniffed. It was pleasant, kind of woodsy, floral but not sweet. "Um … some kind of plant? A flower maybe?"

Bella nodded. "It's lavender. Now what if I add this?" She added two drops from another small bottle.

I sniffed again. "Spicier now."

"Mmm hmm. That's frankincense. Two more …" she said, adding a few drops each of some other scents, twirling it all around gently with a stir stick. "Now what do you think?"

Her face was flushed again, her eyes watching me intently as I leaned in to sniff her final product. It smelled … holy fuck, it smelled good. Mouthwateringly good. Not tasty, like I wanted to eat it, but if I was being completely, embarrassingly honest … it was making me kind of hard.

"Um, that's … uh … that's really nice," was all I could manage to say.

Bella grinned in delight. "You think so?"

I nodded, swallowing thickly. That scent was doing strange things to me. Tingly things, which I was no stranger to, but these were all over my body rather than just in my groin. Even my brain felt like it was sparking.

"Yeah. Um, what is that?"

Bella bit her bottom lip, regarding me with a shy yet satisfied smirk. "It's my perfume. I make my own body products with essential oils."

"You … oh? That smells like … you?"

She nodded, the mischievous glint back in her gaze. "Yep. I'm glad you like it."

'Like' seemed a ridiculously inadequate word for what I was feeling right now—I thought 'savage, carnal lust' might be a whole lot more appropriate—but I couldn't exactly tell her that, so I just nodded in return. "It smells … uh, you smell … nice. Really nice."

Bella smiled at me. "Thank you." She dipped a finger into the mixture, dabbing it behind her ears and down the front of her throat. The scent washed over me again, and I had to clench my eyes shut against its power lest I do something stupid, like try to nuzzle my nose into her neck.

"So," Bella said, prompting me to look at her again. "Should we do the last potion?"

Dear god, should we? So far we'd gone from 'getting lucky' to me drooling and almost creaming my pants over her own personal perfume. What could possibly come next? A mind control drug that'd have me tap-dancing on the table? I wasn't sure I wanted to find out.

Only, Bella was staring at me with a look I'd never seen directed my way before. One that left me feeling hot and kind of excited but horribly nervous, too. Part of me wanted to run and find somewhere safe to hide, somewhere I couldn't knock anything over or say something stupid, but I at the same time I didn't want her to stop looking at me, either.

"Uh, yeah okay," I conceded, trapped in her stare. Her eyes were warm and chocolatey, wide open and welcoming. Being around her was just so … nice. Nerve-wracking for a nerd who had pretty much zero experience with girls, but still really nice. I felt like I could just sit here and talk to her forever.

Bella stowed her little bottles in a small, rather ugly purse I hadn't noticed before, and then set out gathering what we needed for the last potion. We made something called 'Veritaserum,' which apparently was a truth potion, Bella handing me a small stoppered vial of it to keep when it was done. "You never know, it might come in handy sometime," she said.

We cleaned up and with one final performance from 'Professor Snape', everyone clapped and the show was over. I didn't know what to say or do now. I really didn't want to be done here. As much as I'd resented being brought to this strange party and hadn't wanted anything to do with any of it, as it turned out I was actually really enjoying myself.

No one tell Emmett.

I looked at Bella helplessly, at a loss for what to do or say to keep a girl interested. Thankfully she was much better at this than I was, though, because she turned to me with a smile. "Do you want to go somewhere and talk?"

Yes, thank god. "I, uh … yeah. Okay."

Bella stood from the table, sliding her chair back under it. Determined to not be an embarrassment to either her or myself, I did the same with excruciating care, trying my damnedest not to get tangled up or knock anything over.

"Ready?" Bella asked, and I nodded. She led me out of the Potions room, through the foyer, past the kitchen, into a mudroom, and out the back door. "Here we go," she said once we reached a stone bench in the middle of the Hales' immaculately landscaped back yard. "It should be nice and quiet for us now."

"How did you know what was out here?" I asked as I settled carefully onto a far end of the bench.

Bella sat down right beside me, making my heart stutter again. "This is my uncle's house. Rose and Lil are my cousins."

"Seriously?!" I said, shocked and trying to reconcile the idea of soft, sweet Bella being related to a barracuda like Rosalie. "I, uh … I never would have guessed."

Bella laughed lightly. "Yeah, I know about her reputation. She likes it that way, but she's really not so bad once you get to know her."

"I'll just take your word on that."

Bella giggled again, but then looked over at me with a mixture of curiosity and concern. "What was that you said about girls not talking to you before? It's not because of Rosalie, is it?"

"No …" I replied slowly, not entirely sure how to answer. I looked away, trying to think of the best thing to say. "It's because … of me."

"What does that mean?"

I shrugged, glancing at Bella from the corner of my eye. "Maybe you haven't noticed, but I'm kind of a big nerd."

Bella eyed me curiously again. "No."

"What?"

"No, I haven't noticed that," she said. "What exactly do you think makes you a nerd?"

"I … well, I … I don't know. I just always have been."

"Do you play Dungeons and Dragons?"

"No."

"Do you wear a pocket protector?"

"No."

"Do you have thick black glasses?"

"Yes, actually. There's contacts under these," I admitted, motioning to the wire-rimmed frames that were part of my costume.

Bella raised her eyebrows, looking intrigued. "Really … I think I'd like to see that."

I flushed, feeling hot and prickly under her admiring gaze.

"You still don't have me convinced," Bella continued. "Tell me what you do that's so nerdy."

I shrugged again. "I don't know. It's not so much … what I do. More like who I am?"

"Okay …" Bella prompted.

"I'm smart."

"So am I."

"I'm clumsy."

"So am I."

"I say the wrong thing a lot."

Bella laughed. "So do a lot of people, including me."

"I play piano, and I draw. I suck at sports. I like classical music, and … I've never kissed a girl," I admitted, my face burning.

"I see," Bella said, her eyes raking over me once more. "You want to know what I think of you?"

I looked over at her, at her sweet face and kind eyes. She was smiling softly, and even though I was terrified to hear just exactly what this beautiful girl thought of me, I couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"I like you. I think you're cute—more than cute. You are … striking. Your eyes are that bright green, and your nose is so straight. Your hands are really nice, too. Piano fingers, I guess you'd say. But besides all that, I really like talking to you. I think you'd have a lot of interesting things to say, if you actually said them. Maybe, if you want, we could hang out tomorrow. I live in Portland, but I'm here for the weekend."

My mouth was hanging open as I stared at her. I wanted to believe what she was saying more than anything, but it was all just so … not my life. There had to be a catch. "I told you girls don't talk to me," I said, feeling suddenly defensive, like I needed to protect myself and my feelings. "And they certainly don't like me."

Bella frowned as she stared at me, her eyes flitting back and forth as she thought something through. "I know …" She rummaged around in her ugly little purse, eventually pulling out her vial of Veritaserum and holding it up to me. "Truth potion."

I watched perplexedly as she unstoppered it and tipped it back to her lips.

"There," she said once it was gone. "Now everything I say has to be the truth, even though it already was. I like you, and I want to hang out with you tomorrow. If you give me your phone number, I'll call you to set something up. I promise."

I stared at her with wide eyes. She was really going to great lengths to convince me to go out with her, which was admittedly insane on my part, but still … it was just so out of this world. Out of my world. I shook my head stubbornly. "Girls don't call me."

Bella sighed and scrunched up her face, thinking even harder than before. I sat watching her, feeling awkward and stupid and wondering what the fuck was wrong with me, until she finally nodded to herself and gazed determinedly into my eyes.

"We'll make the Unbreakable Vow."

"The what?"

She looked absolutely delighted to have come up with this bizarre-sounding solution, digging around inside her robe until she came out with a wand. She held it up triumphantly, beaming at me with unabashed excitement in her gaze.

"The Unbreakable Vow. It's rock solid. I'll die if I break the promise, and you don't want that now, do you?"

"Uh … no," I answered warily. "What do I have to do?"

"Clasp my arm," she said, reaching out for me.

I gaped at her outstretched hand. She wanted me to touch her?

Bella raised her eyebrows and looked at me expectantly. "Come on," she said, shaking her arm for emphasis. "This is the only way."

I took a deep breath and reached out for her in return, copying her movement and clasping my hand around her wrist. Electricity crackled through me at the connection, my skin heating up so hotly I felt like I might burst into flames. I was touching a girl. A beautiful girl. I couldn't believe this was happening, whatever it was.

"Now," Bella said. "Technically there should be a third person here to preside over the procedure, but we'll just have to improvise."

She held her wand over our clasped hands, waving it dramatically. "Pretend a glowing cord just wrapped around us," she whispered.

"I, Bella Swan, make this Unbreakable Vow to Edward, uh …?"

"Cullen," I filled in, watching her in perplexed fascination. She was really into this. Like, really into this. It was wacky … and surprisingly adorable.

"Edward Cullen," Bella continued. "I solemnly swear that I like Edward Cullen, and that I wish to go out with him tomorrow. I will call him at two p.m. to make the arrangements. If I should break this oath, which I will not, I understand that I will die."

Bella stopped speaking, waving her wand over our hands again and then letting go of my arm. "Well, there you have it," she said, looking at me with a satisfied smirk.

I had no idea what to say. That had to be the absolute weirdest, most bonkers … coolest thing I'd ever done. I'd held her hand. She swore that she liked me. She swore that she'd call me. We were going to go out tomorrow. And strangest of all, I couldn't help but believe her. "Okay," I replied, daring to grin crookedly at her in return.

Bella's smile widened, and her eyes sparkled as she absorbed my acceptance. "Okay. Let's head back inside then. The party is probably wrapping up."

I followed her back into the house and through the maze of rooms to the foyer. Bella had been right, a lot of people were gone, and I looked around worriedly for Emmett. He had my bus pass, having taken it before we got here as security that I wouldn't sneak out, and now that I'd actually stayed and had a good time, the six mile walk home seemed much less acceptable. My jaw dropped when I spotted him, still shaggy and disheveled, pressed up against Rosalie at the far end of the room. They were kissing furiously, Emmett's massive girth holding her tight against the wall while she appeared to be devouring his face whole.

"Whoa," Bella muttered, following my gaze to the appalling scene in front of us. "Do you know that guy?"

"Uh, yeah. That's Emmett. The friend I came with," I admitted reluctantly.

I watched in alarm as Emmett pulled back and said something cocky to Rose—or at least I assumed it was judging by the look on his face—only to have Rosalie rear up and slap him hard across the cheek. He grinned even bigger as she glared at him, saying something else that made Rose's eyes go wide, then she reached up and pulled him down to her mouth again, resuming their frenzied kiss.

"Blegh," I said, turning away and focusing on Bella. The horrified look on her face must have been a mirror of my own, and I couldn't help but chuckle. "Let's, uh … go wait out front?"

Bella nodded quickly. "Yes. Let's."

We made our way out the front door, and finding the bouncers gone, sat down on the concrete steps.

"So what did you think of the party?" Bella asked.

"It was … uh, different." Very, very different, and in more ways than I had been expecting. "But I liked it."

Bella smiled up at me. "That's great! You know, there's all kinds of different cons and cosplay events in Portland every year. They're not all like this, but maybe you could come down for one sometime. You could even go as a character you actually know," she finished with a laugh.

"Yeah? Maybe …" I replied, surprised to be actually considering it, especially if Bella was involved. "Do you always go as, uh … Her-me-ninny?"

Bella laughed again. "Her-my-oh-knee. And no, my usual alter-ego is Princess Diana of Themyscira, Daughter of Hippolyta."

She looked at me in amusement, clearly waiting to see if I'd recognize the title. I just shrugged. I had no clue. "Wonder Woman," she clarified with a sly smile.

"Oh … wow!" I said, definitely impressed. I was going to need to see that one day, for sure. My attending one of these Portland events was quickly going from a 'maybe' to a 'hell yes.' Another costume, though … "I don't know who I would go as. Other than not this," I admitted.

Bella smiled at me. "That's the great thing about cosplay—you can be anyone you want."

Anyone I wanted … Normally that idea would be incredibly appealing, but much to my own surprise, I was actually kind of enjoying being me right now. "I'll have to think about it."

"We'll talk," Bella said. "I have a friend back home who's great at this kind of stuff. She'll hook you up."

Just then the front doors swung open, and Emmett and Rosalie emerged looking flushed and disheveled. Emmett had lost his beard but managed to retain his wig, though it was sitting askew and partly covering his face. Rosalie's tall, crooked witch's hat was leaning precariously off the side of her head, and her robe was open in the front, revealing a very rumpled blouse beneath. I cringed, trying not to imagine exactly what they'd just been up to, though their current state left little to guess.

"Bells, there you are!" Rosalie exclaimed. Her expression turned to sour confusion when she saw me, though. "Uh … what are you doing?"

"Just talking to my new friend, Edward, here," Bella answered pleasantly. "What are you doing?"

"Oh," Rosalie said, her face paling before blushing a furious shade of crimson. "I was just … just, um …" She looked at Emmett and then back to Bella and me. Her eyes were wide as saucers, her mouth opening and closing with no words coming out.

"Talking to your new friend, too?" Bella asked helpfully.

Rosalie blinked at her several times before replying. "Yes. Yes, that's it. Um, should we go in? The rest of the girls are all changing for the hot tub."

Emmett's eyes bulged and he looked to Rosalie, aghast. "And we weren't invited?!"

Rosalie matched Emmett's wide-eyed stare, gaping at him in horror. "You … of course … not … I don't even … how … no."

I couldn't help but laugh. I had never seen Rosalie Hale anything other than perfectly put-together and poised, but it appeared that one make-out session with Emmett had left her as awkward and tongue-tied as I usually was.

Bella smirked at me and nodded up the steps, where Rosalie was still blabbering almost incoherently at Emmett. "I guess I should go save her. I just need your number …" She pulled out her phone and programmed me into her contacts as I relayed my info. "Perfect. I'll call you tomorrow. Two o'clock."

I nodded. "Yep, okay."

Bella smiled slyly again, leaning in a little closer. "Come here," she said quietly. "I want to tell you something."

I brought my head forward, turning slightly to the side to better hear her, only to my shock she grabbed my face and pressed her mouth against mine. Her lips were the softest thing I'd ever felt in my life, plush and warm, the connection sparking against my skin like tiny fireworks. Heat spread through me like I'd never felt before, even hotter than when I'd held her hand, settling under my skin and radiating all the way out to my fingers and toes.

Bella pulled back and smirked at me, her eyes sparkling before she leaned around to my ear. "Now you've kissed a girl," she whispered, and then she stood up and climbed the steps.

Bella passed by Rosalie and Emmett as she made her way into the house, both of them gaping at her before their shocked gazes turned to me. Emmett, his eyes alight, was grinning at me like a lunatic, while Rose was looking very much like someone had just clubbed her over the head. She brought an elegant, manicured hand up and rubbed it over her forehead.

"What a night," Rosalie murmured. She was looking at me strangely, her gaze raking me over like she was seeing me for the very first time. Finally, she shook her head and sighed, her eyebrows high on her face. "Goodnight, Edward," she said, giving me one last quizzical glance before she turned to Emmett.

"And you …"

Emmett grinned at her, waggling his eyebrows up and down. "Fuck you tomorrow?"

Rosalie took a deep breath, blowing it slowly out her nose as she stared daggers at him. I watched worriedly, wondering if she might slap him again or progress to even more violent measures, but then her face relaxed into a resigned scowl and she rolled her eyes. "Call me," she said, and she went into the house, slamming the door behind her.

Emmett was down the steps in one giant bound, pulling me to my feet and shaking me like a rag doll. "Du-u-u-de!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I leave you alone for five minutes and when I find you again you're kissing some hot chick! What happened to you, man?"

I extricated myself from his grasp, turning away and starting to walk down the Hales' driveway. "First of all," I said, pausing a second for Emmett to catch up. I eyed him pointedly when he came up beside me. "That was like two hours. I don't know what you were doing all that time—and I don't want to!—but my night was …" I blew out a heavy breath, thinking back on my evening with Bella. "It was something."

Emmett clapped me on the back. "Nice work, buddy. What's the second thing?"

"Huh?"

"You said 'first of all,' so what's the second thing?"

"Oh." I had gotten lost in my thoughts of Bella, with her warm chocolatey eyes, her soft smile, and her even softer lips. "Second of all, she kissed me," I corrected.

"Even better," Emmett said, and I smiled.

– The Next Day –

My phone rang at exactly two o'clock in the afternoon, not that I had been pacing around and watching the clock or anything, nor counting the seconds to see if Bella would really hold true to her Unbreakable Vow.

I'd already gone through three Harry Potter movies today, trying to figure out exactly what happened last night and place it into some kind of realm that made sense, even if it wasn't our own. I also wanted something to talk to Bella about tonight, something from her world that I understood, if she did actually call to hang out like she said she would. Like she promised. Vowed,on pain of death.

Even though it was all fake, it still seemed like a pretty big deal. She freakin' vowed that she liked me. I still couldn't get over how bizarre and incredibly cool that was.

At one-forty-five I had turned off the TV and come up to my room, waiting impatiently to see how it all panned out. The seconds ticked by like hours, each one seeming longer than the last, every minute that went by working me further and further into an overexcited ball of nerves that was about ready to explode. So when Beethoven's Fifth came blasting out of my phone, alerting me to a call, I sprang into action like a crazed jack-in-the-box.

I leapt across my room, tumbling over my bed in a tangle of sheets and blankets, knocking the phone off my dresser as I scrambled for it desperately. It clattered to the floor, the screen facing up and altering me to an unknown caller. I picked it up with a shaking hand and stabbed at the green button, finally hitting it properly on the third try.

"Hello?" I said breathlessly, trying to calm my racing heart.

"Hi, Edward? It's Bella."

Holy shit, it was her. She actually called!

"Hi! Uh … hi. How are you?"

"I'm good," she replied. "Really good. So, are you free to hang out tonight?"

"Yes! Uh, I mean yes. What … what do you want to do?"

We made plans to go for ice cream, with Bella saying she'd pick me up at seven. I spent the afternoon in a daze of excitement mixed with near-paralyzing nerves, impatient to see her again but terrified I might regress to my usual self and do something mortifying that would send her running for the hills.

After supper I showered and did my best to tame my hair, though not much came of my efforts. Resigned to somewhat of a mad scientist look, I got dressed in a short-sleeved, blue and green plaid button-up, dark jeans and a casual pair of loafers, resting my black horn-rimmed glasses on my nose to complete the look.

I was ready. Or as ready as I ever would be.

At seven o'clock I heard a car pull up outside and peeked out the front window to see Bella getting out of a little green Volkswagen Jetta. I counted to three after the doorbell rang so I didn't look quite as eager as I felt, and then opened the door to the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. She grinned at me, her long brown hair now hanging in smooth waves down her back, and a pair of thick-rimmed tortoise-shell glasses resting atop her nose.

"Nice," she said, gesturing to my face. "I like what those do for you. Much better than the Harry glasses."

"Uh, thanks," I replied, slightly stunned. I'd thought she was pretty last night, but today, seeing her as herself in a short-sleeved, blue-and-white flower print blouse, navy cords, maroon Chuck Taylors, and those glasses—she took my breath away.

"You're a ginger, too," Bella continued, nodding appreciatively at my now-washed hair, which was back to its normal color. "Very nice."

"Thank you," I repeated stupidly, still in shock and awe that she was here, standing in my doorway. I knew I needed to compliment her back, to say something to let her know that I liked what I saw just as much as she said she did, but I couldn't think of any words that would come even close to accurately describing the perfection that she was to me. "You look … you are … you … um … wow."

Bella smiled contentedly. "Thanks."

Relieved that she just seemed to get it—to get me—I grinned at her in return and stepped aside. "Do you want to come in for a sec? My mom wants to meet you. She was pretty excited when I told her I had a date," I admitted awkwardly.

Bella giggled. "Of course."

She stepped into the house, but her back foot caught on the threshold and she tripped, stumbling straight into me. I wrapped my arms around her by instinct, taking a precarious step backward to try to keep us from toppling over, and then we were standing there, holding tight and staring at each other.

"Looks like I'm falling for you already," Bella said, her cheeks pink but her eyes twinkling mischievously. "Get it? Falling?"

I looked down at her, a grin twisting my mouth as it all clicked into place for me. All the ways that Bella had professed to be just like me played through my head again, and I suddenly realized that without even looking for her, I'd found my match—someone quirky and geeky and clumsy, too—and she was perfect.

"Yeah," I said, my smile growing along with my heart. "Yeah, me too."

– The End –

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story was so much fun to write that I'm plotting out a continuation already, which will be posted as a separate story titled Sugar & Spice once it's completed and released. Make sure you have me on Author Alert if you'd like to read that one when it starts posting! Reviews make me smile! XO