One Cup of Chunky Peanut Butter by jennlynnfs

Official Description: WINNER for the AwkWard Contest. With best friend Angela moving forward in her relationship with Ben, Bella feels she’s being left behind. She tries to remedy the situation by going for Edward Cullen, but being inexperienced makes for awkward situations.
Word Count: 22,335

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This is without a doubt one of my favorite one-shots. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve read it, or how often I think about what must have happened next.

jennlynnfs’s entry for the AwkWard Contest is funny, and fluffy, with just the right amount of awkward cuteness.

At the beginning we are introduced to Bella, who is, let’s just say, innocent…

Angela rolled her eyes at her friend. “Yes, fun. Bella, haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like to…”

Bella shifted in her spot. “I guess.”

“What do you mean, you guess? Aren’t you even a little curious?”

“I guess,” she said again unsure of how exactly to respond. “It’s just…It’s hard for me to see how it could be fun.”

It’s not that Bella never thought about kissing. Her thoughts usually centered around the mechanics of kissing. She worried about if her lips would be chapped and hoped she didn’t have bad breath. What if the guy had braces? What if there was food stuck in them? These were the kind of thoughts Bella had when she thought about kissing, effectively killing any ideas of how it could be fun.

The more you get to know Bella, the more you realize she wants to put herself out there more, she just doesn’t know how. Her main question becomes, how did Angela get so comfortable around guys?

“I had help with…figuring out what to do with Ben.”

“Okay.” She hesitated before she said, “You didn’t talk to Jessica Stanley, did you?”

“God no!”

Bella laughed.

“It was someone else.”

Bella’s eyes widened. “Who?”

Angela played with a loose thread on the hem of her shirt. “Edward Cullen.”

If you’re thinking, so what if Bella’s awkward, and Angela is fuckawesome, I want Edward. I can help you out there. In this story he is nothing short of perfect. He’s sensitive, thoughtful, adorable, with just a little bit of jealousward thrown in.

Here’s where his interaction with Bella begins…

Edward looked at her for a minute and then said, “Angela mentioned that you might be interested in tutoring?”

Her eyebrows shot up. No wonder she’s not here. “Uh, when did she…”

“Right before lunch, after Spanish.”

“Well, I-”

“I’m free after school today.” There was a hint of smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “If you’re interested.”

The slight slant of his lips made her forget how to string words together and an incoherent sound came out of her mouth.

Not long after the tutoring starts, we’re introduced to Alice. Leave it to her to help bring Bella out of her shell.

They left Alice’s bathroom, but before Bella left her bedroom, Alice stopped her. “Bella, if you start to get nervous, just think of something that calms you.”

Bella’s brow furrowed. “Like what?”

Alice shrugged. “Don’t tell Edward this, but I like figuring out percentages in my head.”

“Percentages?”

“Yeah, like twenty percent off one hundred. It helps me focus and figure out how much something is on sale.”

Bella smiled. “Okay. I’ll try to remember that.” She left Alice’s room and managed to stumble down the stairs only once. She had left Edward in the kitchen and decided to check there first.

Of course, reading about Bella putting Alice’s advice to use is one of the highlights of the story.

Her cheeks heated up. “I-” Two and a half cups of flour. One teaspoon of baking powder. Half a teaspoon of salt. “Well, maybe you could…watch a movie with us. If you don’t have any other plans.” One and a half teaspoons of baking soda. One cup of brown sugar. One cup of white sugar. One cup of unsalted butter. “I’d like it if you could.” One cup of chunky peanut butter.

Edward stared at her. His mouth was partly open.

She was quick to backtrack. “You don’t have to though.” One cup of chunky peanut butter. “I totally understand if you’re keeping your plans open for something else.” One cup of chunky peanut butter. One cup of chunky peanut butter. One cup of chunky peanut butter.

ONE CUP OF CHUNKY PEANUT BUTTER.

Edward shook his head. “Oh, no. I’m not-Nothing else will come up.” He gave her a small smile. “I’d like to watch a movie with you.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “And Alice and Angela.”

Bake at 375 for about ten minutes. “Okay.” She smiled.

“Okay.” He returned her smile.

I’m not even going to go into what happens next. For that, you’ll have to click that link at the top.

If you’re looking for a well-written, high school fic that will make you smile and giggle, this o/s will definitely provide. I’ll warn you though, after the last line you’ll be left in love and begging for more.

After all, with a Bella that thinks like this, what’s not to love…

Oh my God! I’m a perv. And I don’t care!