84Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer (and Summit…grrrrr), but Lightningward is mine.
A ginormous thank you to my pre-readers, kikki7 and prettyflour! This would still be on my hard drive if it weren't for you! I also want to thank kikki7 and my mom for the beta work. If there are any mistakes still in this chapter, it's not for a lack of their efforts. Mom, I realize you'll probably never read this, but just know that I thank you and love you for all you do and I wouldn't be here without you – literally.
"Marry me."
"Excuse me?"
"Marry me."
"Who are you?"
"Oh, sorry" he says, extending his hand. "I'm Edward Cullen."
She shakes his hand and smiles. "Hi, Edward Cullen. I'm Bella Swan. Nice to meet you. That's quite the pick-up line."
"It wasn't a pick-up line. I meant it. I don't…I mean… Shit, I've never done this before. I'm not usually like this. I'm not spontaneous or impulsive. I'm a bit out of my element, to be honest with you." Edward squirms and looks at Bella sheepishly.
"So what is your element, Edward?"
Edward smiles at hearing Bella say his name. "Hmm. Maybe I should tell you a bit about myself, and then you might get a better understanding as to why this is so out-of-character for me.
I was born here in Chicago to an upper middle class family. I'm not saying that to impress, just to give you some context. My father is a doctor and I followed in his footsteps. Not that it was expected of me, but I truly felt that it was a way for me to give back. My dad is an attending physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and I'm the newest ER attending at Stroger Hospital. I realize it seems like a strange choice, given my background, but I did my residency there and loved the excitement of working at the busiest hospital in Chicago, not to mention helping the people who need it most. My mother is an interior designer, but played piano professionally at the time she met my father. She taught me from the time I was three and I still play now. It's the one thing I do just for me. Along with my parents, we attend fundraisers, the symphony and whatever other events are expected of us. It's kind of what I've always done. Until now."
"What's different about now?"
"I met you."
"And?"
"And, did you ever see When Harry Met Sally?'"
"That's quite the non sequitur."
Edward chuckles at the combination of Bella's comment and his own rambling thoughts. "Just bear with me."
"Alright. Yes, I've seen When Harry Met Sally. It's a classic. Who hasn't seen it?"
Taking a breath for focus, Edward replies, "Okay, so you know that part at the end of the movie when he says, 'When you know who you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want the rest of your life to start right away,' or something like that?"
"Or something like that," Bella replies with a half-smile.
"Well, yeah. That's where I'm at. I know what I want. Rather, I know who I want to spend my life with and I want my new life to start right now. And if I didn't make it clear, that person is you."
"Actually, I think you made it fairly clear when you proposed."
"And if you knew me, you'd know that a) I don't do things like that, and b) I'm very determined; when I know what I want, I work my ass off to get it."
"But I don't know you."
"Yeah, I'm aware of that, but I'm going to rectify the situation as soon as possible. I just want you to know my intentions."
"Which are to marry me."
"Which are to marry you."
"At least we're clear about that," Bella says, chuckling.
"We are. So, can I buy you dinner?"
And so it begins. This drabblish story was inspired by the "Say I Do" contest, which I was not nearly organized enough to enter. Apparently I'm not good with deadlines if I'm not getting paid to meet them. That said, don't expect regular updates, long chapters or any consistency whatsoever. I'm doing this as inspiration strikes. I expect the chapters to be very short, and there will be a central theme, but that's about as much continuity as I can promise.
Hope you enjoy!